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| Tent jail plan hits snags at county level |
| By The Cincinnati Post |
| Published: 07/20/2006 |
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CAMP WASHINGTON, OH - A proposal to establish a small city of bubble-shaped tent jails in Camp Washington appears to be a bust before it even gets started. Cincinnati City Council Members Jeff Berding and Leslie Ghiz said Wednesday morning that they have a majority of Council members willing to support the expected $6 million temporary jail structure to be built on the site of the old City Workhouse. But they failed to get support of county officials who would have to back the measure to get it off the ground. The city could build the structures, but Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis would decide if prisoners would be jailed there. "I have some serious reservations," Leis said Wednesday about the plan, citing concerns that a permanent jail might never get built if officials decide the bubbles would suffice. Ghiz said she was "sick" of the city's crime problems and felt some proposal had to be put forward to solve the problem quickly. If the city built the structures - already in use around the country - and Leis refused to use them, it would make him look bad, she said. The structures are made of canvas covering over metal frames, with interior cinder block walls. The plan would save the county money now being spent on sending prisoners to Butler County and stop the catch-and-release situation at the Hamilton County Justice Center, Ghiz said. The program would be paid for in next year's city budget or by selling bonds, she said. But Hamilton County Commission President Phil Heimlich disputed that there would be substantial savings from the tent town. Ultimately, Ghiz, an attorney, said the issue was a concern for the county commissioners to work out and force the sheriff to fall in line if he did not change his mind. But Heimlich said Ghiz' reasoning was flawed. "They obviously have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the law is," Heimlich said. "The sheriff is an elected official. We have no authority to tell him how to do his job. And frankly, if we could, I wouldn't do it. He's a well-respected law enforcement official." According to state law, county commissioners can control only the budgets of county departments headed by elected officials, such as the county engineer, recorder, auditor or sheriff. They cannot dictate policy, Heimlich said. Berding and Ghiz said they had consulted all members of Council about the proposal, but aides of several other members, including Vice Mayor Jim Tarbell and Chris Monzel, said they had not been approached about the matter. Berding said Council members Chris Bortz, Cecil Thomas, Laketa Cole and John Cranley had said they would support the measure. Bortz's office said only cursory details were shared with the Council member, who is vacationing in Bermuda, and he declined to give the plan full support. Bortz will review the proposal more fully when he returns, an aide said. |
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