Now that we have the Pulaski County finances and the budget under control, our task and goal for 2008 is the expansion of beds in the county jail. But first I want to thank two public servants who have helped us regain control of the county finances. The county could not have accomplished as much as we have in the past year had it not been for the dedication of our new comptroller Mike Hutchens who has cleaned up and simplified the information flowing to the Quorum Court members. In addition, the County Sheriff Doc Holliday and his staff have done a fantastic job of stretching a dollar to get the maximum benefit for the taxpayers. With the information I have available, I have a proposal that will expand the number of jail beds and add the additional hard cells the Sheriff has requested and get more of our criminals off of the streets. Like our other county successes it requires immediate steps combined with future planning.

First, secure the current situation.

The Sheriff has stated that temporary repairs can be made to the old section of the jail building for approximately $400,000, with a guarantee of the repairs for at least 3 years. These repairs to the roof and heat and air systems and some additional clean up would make the offices habitable again. It would also permit the use of jail pods A and B to hold prisoners now being held in the minimum security work center dormitory and open that section up again to hold up to 250 misdemeanor offenders. This is a necessary step, not only to increase the number of beds available, but, to resolve a growing safety issue of holding more violent offenders in an area that is not inside the perimeter fence and is not as secure as the main jail building.

The idea of throwing more money into the decaying section of the detention facility is certainly not ideal. Unless, however, it is understood that this is simply a temporary solution that is not meant as a long-term resolution to the jail bed problem. These repairs are simply to buy the county time to construct and complete a new section of the facility that will be built inside the security fence perimeter. The agreement to fund these repairs should be with the express understanding and pledge that once funds are secured from in our existing budget, work will begin right away to plan and construct the new section of the jail. It is estimated that the time frame to completion of a new section of the jail should be less than 24 months from the time the funds are acquired.

Second, Fund the new building.

In order to construct the new section of the jail of course we have to have funding. The county can do this without any expenditure increases at all as we already have the payments built into our current budget. First, we need to pay off the current balance owed on the loan to remodel the prosecutors building, which is $2,240,000. With the carry over funds from 2007, the county would pay this loan off. By paying this loan off early the county would save $62,004.00 in interest payments. We already have budgeted for 2008 a payment of $1,120,000 and the remaining $1,120,000 would be paid from the $4,698,164 carryover funds from 2007. The county would then secure a new loan for approximately $8,000,000, which would construct a 250-bed facility with 100 hard beds and 150 soft beds and include some classroom facilities as well.

Finally, Funding Maintenance and Operations.

In the meantime, once construction is in progress, the elected officials in our county should all work together to make funding the jail their number one priority. For example, state legislation needs to be proposed to increase the dollar amount the state is paying for their prisoners to be held in the county facilities. Currently, the compensation paid for state prisoners is approximately 40% of what it costs to house and maintain those prisoners. The state mandates that we hold their prisoners. But, the state should have to pay the full costs of that service. This continues to be a primary and tremendous drain on our revenue and resources that could be used to hold more of our local offenders. The county has made tremendous progress with the budget over the past year. By continuing to exercise fiscal discipline, the Quorum Court, working with the local cities, should be able to direct the appropriate additional funding required to protect its citizens.

To view the news story on Fox 16 regarding the new plan to put more criminals back in jail, CLICK HERE.