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| Guilford County's Manager Looks to tighten belt on New Jail |
| By Scott D. Yost , County Editor, greensboro.rhinotimes.com |
| Published: 05/05/2011 |
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In the discussion of Guilford County's 2011-2012 budget, expected to be adopted by the Board of Commissioners within the next two months, one controversial topic in particular is becoming central to the budget debate: the number of new detention officers the Guilford County Sheriff's Department needs to run the new jail in downtown Greensboro when it opens next year. Guilford County Manager Brenda Jones Fox presented her proposed budget to the commissioners on Thursday, April 7. That budget, which contained an 8.5 percent property tax increase, called for cuts for many Guilford County departments – however, it included $6.2 million in additional funds for new guards for Sheriff BJ Barnes' new detention center. So, naturally, that's one place where county commissioners are taking a long hard look for cuts before they adopt the county budget. Fox's proposal calls for the county to hire 78 new detention officers for the new jail at a cost of $6.2 million. Fox's budget increases the county's property tax 6.32 cents on every $100 of property value, and since every cent that's added to the property tax raises roughly $4.8 million in revenue for the county, the amount of new taxes that would be attributable to the number of new guards recommended by Fox comes to about 1.3 cents on the tax rate if the proposed 78 detention officers are hired. The new jail is scheduled to be completed by December of this year and expected to open in March 2012. Barnes has said he needs to start training new guards right away; however, the commissioners – who were thrown into severe sticker shock when they saw the amount of Fox's proposed tax increase – are looking for ways to save money. So they're saying to Barnes' large guard request – not so fast. Following the lead of The Rhino Times, commissioners are now asking why Barnes needs so many new officers – since the county's jail population will basically stay the same. The county's jail population hasn't changed much in the last five years, and there's no reason to suppose the number of inmates will instantly skyrocket the day the new jail opens. Also, several commissioners say they were led to believe the new jail would be less labor intensive but apparently that's not the case, since Barnes is asking for so many new guards to staff it. In fact, Barnes said that, ideally, he would be getting even more than 78 new guards to run the jail but, he said, he can make do with 78 new officers this year. Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said Barnes' request for so many additional guards doesn't make much sense to him. Alston said that, for years, as the new jail in downtown Greensboro was being proposed to the citizens, sold to the voters and then planned and built, commissioners were led to believe the new detention facility – and its much-touted "modern direct-supervision" design – would be more efficient to operate and, therefore, would require fewer detention officers per inmate. But now, Alston said, Barnes somehow supposedly needs a whole slew of new guards even though the number of inmates in the county has basically remained level for years. Alston said that, all along, he and other commissioners were given the impression that "more efficient" meant more efficient staffing. "That's what they told us," Alston said. So, why, Alston asks, is there a need for 78 new detention officers. Alston said Barnes is clearly asking for more guards than he needs at a time when other county departments are cutting costs. "I think he's over-exaggerating," Alston said of Barnes' request for the large number of new detention officers. "He's asking for more than he needs." Alston said that, since the new jail is supposed to be much better designed and more efficient than the old dilapidated county jail currently in use in Greensboro, it doesn't make sense that Barnes would need so many new detention officers. "Why would you need more?" Alston asked. Recently, Alston sent Barnes a memo requesting very detailed information on how Barnes planned to use the additional guards. Barnes said the new jail needs to be more heavily staffed because the jail will follow a philosophy the commissioners have said they wanted to see and were willing to fund – a desire to help inmates rather than simply incarcerate them. "It has more programs," Barnes said of the new jail. Barnes said neither he nor the commissioners, based on extensive discussions over the years leading up to the construction of the new jail, have any desire to simply throw inmates into a hostile and inhumane environment while they await trial. "I don't want to warehouse inmates," Barnes said. He said one of the main benefits of having a new jail was that it was designed to help inmates. Barnes said the more guards and staff the jail employs, the more the jail can offer the ability to provide programs that would help rehabilitate inmates. Rather than being locked in their cells for long stretches of time during the day, they could instead be out in the dayrooms working on things like getting their GED, taking anger management classes and learning social skills that will help make them employable when they reenter society. At the new jail, the inmates would also get help dealing with their substance abuse problems and mental health issues. The jail, which has 1,032 beds, has a section designed to hold inmates with mental health issues and a section for inmates struggling with substance abuse problems. As the discussions about the new jail were taking place, Commissioners Carolyn Coleman, Kay Cashion, Bruce Davis and others stressed many times through the years the need for inmates to be offered help in the facility. Ideally, inmates wouldn't be held in jail long enough to get any meaningful treatment or training: Jails are designed to hold those who are presumed innocent and who are awaiting trial for short periods of time until their cases can be adjudicated. Read More. |
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