Judge Exec. hoping to see funds added to state budget that would help with financially burdensome county jail operation

“When people pay their local taxes, they expect to see some local benefit.” That is how Whitley County Judge Executive Pat White, Jr. summarized what he believes to be the general consensus among local taxpayers. Unfortunately, the ever-increasing financial burden of operating the Whitley County Detention Center is making it very difficult for the fiscal court to fund very many other projects.

“For those people who are paying their property and occupational taxes, which are the two primary funding sources for the general fund, they expect to see more policemen,” White said. “They expect to see new ambulances, increased staff within the ambulance service, blacktopping, or some construction being done. But with the jail being such a huge portion of the budget, it keeps us from being able to do many of these things that people just assume you should be able to do.”

So, how much money are we talking here? Put simply, a lot. In fact, White estimates that the county must move approximately $2 million each year out of the general fund in order to help cover operating costs at the detention center.

Whitley County Jailer Jason Wilson explained some of the costs associated with keeping the jail operational, saying, “When you start thinking about all of the costs for food, and there are a lot of medical costs that you wouldn’t really think about. We get very little help from the State Dept. of Corrections when it comes to housing people who have medical conditions. That’s a big cost.”

“The building itself is over 20 years old,” Wilson continued. “So, we are spending a lot of money to keep everything functioning the way that it should be. We have had to replace the boiler system and the fire alarm system. We have replaced two HVAC systems out of 18, and need to replace more.”

“The building just runs 24-hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days out of the year. It’s kind of like a hospital, or any other emergency services facility.”

The problem of funding a jail is not unique to one county. It is proving to be a serious issue across the Commonwealth, which led to several counties, including Whitley, joining together last year to file a lawsuit against the Kentucky Department of Corrections. The purpose of the suit, which White said a summary judgement hearing is scheduled for in early March, is to compel the state to come into compliance when it comes to the classification, housing, and many costs associated with inmates, many of whom are serving long sentences in county jails as they await trials.

When asked if the above issues could be resolved through budgetary legislation, White responded, “In my mind, if the state made a fair effort at trying to solve the problem and help us, then I would personally be willing to discuss that. I can’t speak for the other counties involved, though.”

As for the ongoing suit serving as a motivating factor to get something done about this sooner rather than later, White said, “I think that it is putting enough pressure on so that people are getting educated on the issue. I think it is helping people to understand that this is a real problem. It’s part of the reason why county employees can’t get paid more. It’s part of the reason why you can’t buy more police cars, or pave as many roadways.”

Wilson explained that the detention center currently houses an average of 300 inmates at any given time. This is well above capacity, and of those 300 he estimates that roughly a third have been incarcerated for 31 days or more. If the General Assembly decides to set aside funds for county jails as part of the annual budget, then the state could begin making reimbursements for costs associated with housings those 100 inmates. This would remove a considerable financial burden off of the county, thus freeing up money from the general fund to go towards other important efforts, such as many of those previously mentioned.

White said that he is aware of discussions about whether state funding should kick in for an inmate that has been housed in a county jail for 31 or days, or if that threshold should be extended out to 60 days. Either way, he said that it would be a “big step forward.”

“We realistically think that the counties would exhaust the money using either figure – 31 days or 60 days – statewide,” White said.

White, Wilson, and everyone else simply have to play the waiting game right now as legislators in Frankfort continue to hammer out the state’s budget in House Bill 1. White said that the figure he has heard mentioned the most as it pertains to potential jail funding is approximately $30 million.

“It’s hard to ever be too confident about legislation,” White cautioned. “Some things that you think should pass just won’t, but I think there is a recognition by the General Assembly that there is a real need for this. I think there is some understanding by both senators and representatives about how much damage this is doing to counties.”

“If you’re working here in Whitley County, and you are paying taxes locally, then you probably would not think that all of that is going toward incarceration,” White said. “You would think that at least some of it should be going to provide benefits to those people who are working.”

White estimates that it would cost somewhere between $42-50 to cover costs for an inmate’s needs per day at the Whitley County Detention Center. When asked what he hopes to see happen next in this process, he said, “We need to see some language introduced to the budget concerning some sort of reimbursement after a certain period of time for the housing of inmates in a county jail. Second, there needs to be a fair calculation of what amount the state should reimburse local governments for housing those inmates. Third, we do have court hearings coming up where the counties have sued the state over these issues. We could get a favorable judgement, meaning the state would have to undertake some of these things at that point.”

White said that $215,000 had to be budgeted just to cover the cost of utilities alone at the Whitley County Detention Center. That includes an estimated $10,000 per month just for water service. He also pointed out that $350,000 a year is budgeted for food costs, adding, “and that is doing it as cheap as you can possibly do it.”

White said that, if he is able, he would like to put more of the county’s money toward recreational and/or economic development efforts in the future. Whether that can happen or not will depend largely on what budgetary decisions are ultimately made in the capital sometime between now and the end of the current legislative session.