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| Fayette County seek jail cost answers |
| By Jessica Farrish - Register-Herald Reporter |
| Published: 03/26/2009 |
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FAYETTEVILLE — The cost of holding inmates at Southern Regional Jail has Fayette County commissioners asking questions about the state Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority budget. County commissions across the state are approving their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year this month. Fayette Commission president Kenneth Eskew and Commissioners Matt Wender and John Lopez approved the Fayette budget Wednesday. They praised elected county officials for shaving their office budgets in order to help save dollars in the current difficult economy. But they lit a fire when they began talking about the cost of housing Fayette inmates at Southern Regional Jail in Beaver. “I don’t know of any county that really isn’t hurting by these jail costs,” Eskew said. Fayette is paying about $800,000 per year to SRJ. The current daily fee is $47.53 per inmate, but the rate increases to $48.25 in July. State officials say the increase is due to higher PEIA premiums and a hike in utility costs. Mystifying, Wender said, is that the surplus budget for the jail authority went from $24 million to $41 million, even though the rates paid by counties increased. “We’re a small county,” Eskew said. “Some of the larger counties may have a revenue stream that allows them to pay that kind of jail cost, but in our county, that’s a very significant number. “We’re members in good standing (with SRJ payments), but we choke on that.” Fayette commissioners aren’t the only ones asking questions about the jail authority budget. Last week, Kanawha County Commission president Kent Carper called on the jail authority to distribute part of its excess reserve funds to counties that are struggling to pay jail costs. In February, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, appointed a subcommittee to look at the jail authority’s budget. Cabell County Commissioner Scott Bias recently requested financial information from the jail authority. Joe Thornton, deputy secretary for the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, denied there is a $41 million surplus. He said that by law the jail authority is allowed to keep three months of the upcoming year’s projected operating budget, meaning that this year, $19.7 million may be kept in reserve. Some county commissioners have questioned whether the surplus funds are being hoarded to build another jail. “My understanding of the law that set up the regional jail is that building the regional jail was the responsibility of the state,” Wender said. “Paying the ongoing rate and maintenance for the jail was supposed to be the responsibility of the counties. “I think the concern among a lot of counties is that they’re allowing this reserve to build, and that’s money the Legislature may well go after to build a regional jail.” Thornton said the jail authority has no plans or authority to build a new jail, although the Monongalia County Commission has lobbied for a new regional jail in the Morgantown area. In an effort to curb jail spending, Fayette commissioners recently initiated a day report center that allows offenders who have a history of alcohol, drug abuse or anger problems to perform community service projects while staying at home on curfew. The center has cut out a small portion of the cost of housing inmates. “That’s been helpful, but that’s not the total answer,” Eskew said. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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