Jail bed rentals might stop
Hamilton County Can't Find Money to Renew Butler Contract
It looks like 300 beds for Hamilton County inmates might disappear, dumping that many low-level criminals back onto the streets.
Although they have not yet voted on the issue, county commissioners Monday were unable to come up with enough budget cuts to extend an inmate housing contract with Butler County. The contract expires Oct. 6.
A meeting Monday, intended to be a working session on the budget, turned into a game of finger-pointing after Commissioner Pat DeWine, who'd claimed for months the money was there, failed to present enough suggested cuts, his colleagues said.
The deadline to decide on the Butler County contract is Aug. 6, though Butler County might allow a brief extension.
Butler County gets about $6 million annually from the contract, about $1.5 million of which is profit. Butler County Administrator Derek Conklin said if Hamilton County cancels the contract it will pursue contracts elsewhere.
"I think we have enough interest from other counties and federal authorities to offset the loss," he said.
Commission President Todd Portune doubts the money can be found.
The contract "is greatly at risk," he said. He presented nearly $19 million in suggested cuts for the 2008 budget and was looking for his colleagues to make similar efforts. The county is facing a projected $27 million shortfall next year. That doesn't include the Butler County contract.
Hamilton County began borrowing from its dwindling reserve fund last year to rent space in Butler County at roughly $8 million annually, including transportation and medical costs. The effort was aimed to slow the practice of releasing inmates early.
It was meant to be temporary until a permanent solution could be found.
Portune and Commissioner David Pepper's solution was to raise the county sales tax to build a new jail and fund the Butler County contract until construction is complete in 2010. The sales tax is supposed to go into effect Oct. 1.
But DeWine and others lobbied against the increase. DeWine argued the county could build a new jail without raising taxes. More than 50,000 signatures were gathered in an effort to strike down the commissioner-imposed tax. If 28,750 are valid, the issue will go on the November ballot, stalling collection of the sales tax.
The signatures are being counted now.
Even if voters ultimately approve the tax increase, the county wouldn't see any revenue until the middle of next year, leaving a several-month funding gap.
Hamilton County just doesn't have the money to pay Butler County in the interim, said County Administrator Pat Thompson.
Monday's meeting got ugly at times as Pepper and Portune lambasted DeWine for not coming up with a workable solution.
DeWine suggested about $3 million in solid cuts and several other cost-saving measures. He didn't have totals for how much his suggestions would save. Most he'd proposed earlier this year as ways to fund a new jail.
"It's flabbergasting to not see more come out of him than what we saw today," Pepper said later, terming it the "DeWine get-out-of-jail-early program."
"First (his cuts) were to build the jail, then to balance the budget, then to fund Butler County. We have to do all three. (His cuts are) not enough to do any of them," he said.
Added Portune: "I'm amazed this is all we have to work with. We have to come up with the hard numbers to make this work. David and I did that earlier this year. No one showed up today to help us."
from the Cincinnati Enquirer
It looks like 300 beds for Hamilton County inmates might disappear, dumping that many low-level criminals back onto the streets.
Although they have not yet voted on the issue, county commissioners Monday were unable to come up with enough budget cuts to extend an inmate housing contract with Butler County. The contract expires Oct. 6.
A meeting Monday, intended to be a working session on the budget, turned into a game of finger-pointing after Commissioner Pat DeWine, who'd claimed for months the money was there, failed to present enough suggested cuts, his colleagues said.
The deadline to decide on the Butler County contract is Aug. 6, though Butler County might allow a brief extension.
Butler County gets about $6 million annually from the contract, about $1.5 million of which is profit. Butler County Administrator Derek Conklin said if Hamilton County cancels the contract it will pursue contracts elsewhere.
"I think we have enough interest from other counties and federal authorities to offset the loss," he said.
Commission President Todd Portune doubts the money can be found.
The contract "is greatly at risk," he said. He presented nearly $19 million in suggested cuts for the 2008 budget and was looking for his colleagues to make similar efforts. The county is facing a projected $27 million shortfall next year. That doesn't include the Butler County contract.
Hamilton County began borrowing from its dwindling reserve fund last year to rent space in Butler County at roughly $8 million annually, including transportation and medical costs. The effort was aimed to slow the practice of releasing inmates early.
It was meant to be temporary until a permanent solution could be found.
Portune and Commissioner David Pepper's solution was to raise the county sales tax to build a new jail and fund the Butler County contract until construction is complete in 2010. The sales tax is supposed to go into effect Oct. 1.
But DeWine and others lobbied against the increase. DeWine argued the county could build a new jail without raising taxes. More than 50,000 signatures were gathered in an effort to strike down the commissioner-imposed tax. If 28,750 are valid, the issue will go on the November ballot, stalling collection of the sales tax.
The signatures are being counted now.
Even if voters ultimately approve the tax increase, the county wouldn't see any revenue until the middle of next year, leaving a several-month funding gap.
Hamilton County just doesn't have the money to pay Butler County in the interim, said County Administrator Pat Thompson.
Monday's meeting got ugly at times as Pepper and Portune lambasted DeWine for not coming up with a workable solution.
DeWine suggested about $3 million in solid cuts and several other cost-saving measures. He didn't have totals for how much his suggestions would save. Most he'd proposed earlier this year as ways to fund a new jail.
"It's flabbergasting to not see more come out of him than what we saw today," Pepper said later, terming it the "DeWine get-out-of-jail-early program."
"First (his cuts) were to build the jail, then to balance the budget, then to fund Butler County. We have to do all three. (His cuts are) not enough to do any of them," he said.
Added Portune: "I'm amazed this is all we have to work with. We have to come up with the hard numbers to make this work. David and I did that earlier this year. No one showed up today to help us."
from the Cincinnati Enquirer
posted by Scott @ 10:10 AM
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