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| New administrator experienced in jail issues |
| By Chad D. Lerch - Muskegon Chronicle |
| Published: 02/25/2009 |
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MUSKEGON COUNTY -- The Muskegon County board's choice for its top administrator is credited with solving a Wisconsin county's jail overcrowding problem while slashing overtime for the sheriff's department. Advertisement The Muskegon County board was expected to vote this afternoon on a contract for Bonnie Hammersley, director of administration for Dane County, Wis. Dane County officials speak highly of Hammersley. "She is held in great esteem by all the elected officials, managers and staff that I know of," said Topf Wells, chief of staff for the Dane County administration. "Muskegon is lucky to get her." Hammersley is the No. 2 administrator under an elected executive, and answers to a 37-member legislative body. Dane County has a population 21/2 times that of Muskegon County, and includes the state capital, Madison. Wells said Hammersley spearheaded an early release program for county jail inmates that uses 24-hour electronic monitoring devices worn on wrists or ankles. Three years ago, Dane County dealt with its overcrowding problem by spending $3 million to send inmates to other holding facilities in Wisconsin. Last year, the county spent $500,000 to board inmates elsewhere. This year, the county is on track to spend nothing on such transfers, which Wells attributes to the electronic monitoring program for nonviolent offenders. Muskegon County officials are dealing with overcrowding at the county jail. The county board recently voted to postpone asking voters to approve funding for a new jail and juvenile detention center, given the state of the economy. Dane County officials said they were looking at spending $45 million on construction of a new jail with an annual operating budget of $10 million. But, with the electronic monitoring program, building a new jail is no longer on the table, Wells said. Dane County officials use a federal assessment to determine whether nonviolent offenders qualify for early release. They look at factors including criminal and work history. Wells said many jail inmates are allowed to leave for work during the day, so a 24-hour monitoring program was not a stretch. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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these articles are hard to read without spaces between paragraphs