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| County jail in need of $22M expansion |
| By Eric Litke |
| Published: 04/23/2009 |
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More people are spending time behind bars in Sheboygan County, and officials say a multimillion-dollar expansion to the Sheboygan County Detention Center is “inevitable.” The proposed expansion would cost $22 million and add a third and fourth floor to the facility in Sheboygan’s south-side industrial park, doubling its 290-bed capacity. “It’s a real jaw-dropping figure, but one that certainly the County Board is going to have to contend with,” County Administrator Adam Payne said Wednesday. Brian Hoffmann, chairman of the county’s Law Committee, said construction is likely at least two years away, but the overcrowding problem needs to be publicized and plans made. He addressed the issue before the County Board on Tuesday. “It’s arriving sooner than we anticipated,” Hoffmann said. “We thought we’d have another four, five years, but that’s apparently not going to happen unless people stop committing crimes right away.” The number of inmates housed at the detention center has risen 64 percent in the last eight years, from an average of 91 inmates per day in 2002 to 142 inmates per day this year, said Sheriff Mike Helmke. If built as proposed, the larger facility would increase operating costs by $2.7 million to $3.5 million annually, based on 2009 wage and benefit levels, he said. The detention center, built in 1998, has about 190 secure beds for adult male inmates and 96 dorm-style beds for those with work-release privileges, said Capt. Karol Salata, jail administrator for the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department. The jail attached to the sheriff’s department downtown has room for 40 adult females and 27 juveniles. It is currently well within its capacity. The detention center, however, has been running at 92 to 93 percent of capacity this year, forcing secure inmates to be housed in the less secure work-release area, Salata said. “I think it’s a combination of many things: The rise in crime, the rise of incarceration, probation revocations,” Salata said. “It’s kind of reflective of society. … In other places they’re having the same issues.” Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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