Rising Jail Fees Raising Eyebrows
By ANNIE DIMMICKArticle Photos
MOUNDSVILLE - A surplus in the West Virginia Regional Jail Authority's coffers will not prevent the agency from raising the daily fees counties pay for housing inmates - despite the fact that county officials say the fees already are a major problem for them.
Instead, authority officials maintain its $11 million surplus is actually keeping jail fees from increasing at a faster pace.
Joseph Thornton, deputy cabinet secretary of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, told The Intelligencer the authority does have an $11 million surplus for fiscal 2009. He said that while the authority has a $19 million reserve, the $11 million was rolled back into operating capital for the past year, and this kept the daily costs of housing an inmate at $47.53 - an amount paid by the county where an arrest was made.
By doing that, the regional authority was able to lower the cost last year from $48.50 to $47.53. If the authority had not rolled that money back into operations, the cost would have gone up, Thornton said.
In July, the daily jail fee per inmate will go up to $48.25, even though the authority has rolled $8 million back into its excess funds for fiscal 2010, Thornton said. He said reasons for the hike include substantial increases in utility costs as well as for the Public Employees Insurance Agency, general operations and a three-year pay raise commitment from the West Virginia Legislature for authority employees. This is the final year for those raises, Thornton said, noting that employees got $2,000 the first and second years and will receive $1,000 this year.
"You have costs in general going up," Thornton said. "Those are all things in the budget. A budget is just that. If we overestimate and we have a reserve, it goes back to assist the counties. Doing away with the reserve would not be good business."
According to state law, the authority is allowed to keep a minimum of about $19 million, enough to cover three months of operational expenses. Thornton said that money is necessary in case counties default in their regional jail payments, as some have. While he could not provide the exact amounts that each county currently owes, he noted there are a "couple" of counties that are behind, adding that they are making a concerted effort to pay.
The surplus recently came into question after Cabell County Commissioner Scott Bias said the commission had calculated the authority had $30 million in its accounts after requesting and receiving financial information from the authority. But Thornton said Bias did not take into consideration the fact that the authority can, by law, have at least $19 million in its accounts.
Like Bias, many commissioners and other county officials have spoken out against the July increase, saying the money saved from lower jail fees could go toward necessary county projects. In Charleston earlier this week, the jail fee increase was a topic of discussion for the West Virginia Association of Counties during its yearly meeting.
Marshall County Sheriff and WVAOC President John Gruzinskas said jail fees are draining county budgets. He noted that the increase is a major concern among county officials. He said the association is working to develop a solution to the problem and bring it to the West Virginia Legislature.
Thornton added it's the trickle-down effect of the economy that is the problem.
"I understand that county budgets are tight, but they have to realize that we have bills to pay, too," Thornton said.
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wonderwhy
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03-29-09 5:17 PM
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the last statement was meant to be 'YOUR" continued problem
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wonderwhy
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03-29-09 5:16 PM
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popeye- I own a gun, and i am not on a list, and I voted for Obama. our continued problem with th ePresident makes you an obvious right wing extremist that claims to be an independent. as i mentioned b4 , neocons in the closet are the best kind:)
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popeye
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03-29-09 1:42 PM
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pcgs70- Oh, oh...you just made Obama's terrorist list. No to worry, all gun owners make the list.
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joesr66
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03-29-09 7:48 AM
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The countries wanted these regional jails now they got them and all the can do is cry about the bill they get every month. The surplus is for dead beat countys who don't pay there bill on time and the regional jail has bills to pay for the worthless people they keep. If the countries don't like the way its run then build your own jails and take care of your own.Then you can run it as you see fit.Now you can see the tapayers side of life and how he is trying to make it cause you have the poor people tax enough already so*****it up and start doing the job your suppose to do by crunching the numbers.
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PCGS70
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03-29-09 3:09 AM
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I own a gun.
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WJU2001
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03-29-09 12:29 AM
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EllisRacist has a good idea about legalizing drugs, but as usual it's accompanied by his patented spewing of BS propaganda. Was Robert Maine's cousin government scum, trying to oppress him? I guess that's why Maine needed to slaughter him with a rifle, right? Yay murder! Give everyone a gun!
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wvhoopie
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03-28-09 10:16 PM
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I must be drunk. Ellis makes sense.
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robojock
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03-28-09 4:23 PM
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This is problem has been purcolating for years. The regional jails and prison system is joke, as they closed down local jails, actually generating a profit by charging prisoners and renting cells to the feds, to the current system which is now bankrupt. the funny thing is is that several jails were deemed uninhabitable and closed, to be switched to the new regional system, only to be reopened 2 months later as minimum security halfway house buildings. Somebody got paid somewhere and now the taxpayers are paying as always!
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MoundsvilleMom
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03-28-09 3:47 PM
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I think the tent city idea is a good one! I also don't think there's anything wrong with making prisoners pay for their incarceration...why should the taxpayers have to foot the bill for their life of crime?
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EllisWyatt
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03-28-09 3:12 PM
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Joe Arpaio is being attacked by the Obama administration and his minions because he is too tough on scum. Liberals WANT a lawless society because this enables them to take more of your tax dollars and gain more control over the people. They are like drug dealers-they get you hooked and keep you dependent on them. As with drug dealers, though, you have to CHOOSE to permit this. This is why the Sultan's forces do not want citizens to own guns. Citizens with guns can kill scum and defend themselves against government oppression.
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EllisWyatt
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03-28-09 3:09 PM
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55% of our prison population is in for drug offenses. Another large proportion are illegal immigrants. Here is what I propose: ship all non-violent illegals back to where they came from, after microchipping them with a device that alerts US authorities to their presence if they come back into the country. Decriminalize drugs and release prisoners in jail for DOING drugs or for being in a car or house with someone who had drugs. Keep the violent criminals and dealers locked up. This will get hundreds of thousands of people out of our prisons and enable us to lock up real criminals like rapists, murderers, robbers and other assorted thugs.
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topofthehill
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03-28-09 9:58 AM
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They should consult with Sheriff Joe Arpaio. And it makes absolutely no sense that they aren't charging prisoners on a daily basis.
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CHANGE
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03-28-09 6:17 AM
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MARICOPA COUNTY.ARIZONA
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CHANGE
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03-28-09 6:14 AM
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TENT CITY--SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO- AMRICOPA COUNTY,ARIZONIA---MCSO**** A WORTH READ AN WILL SAVE ALOT OF MONEY
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olewillie
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03-28-09 5:18 AM
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A lot of counties in the USA charge inmates for their incaration directly.....
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