BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials delayed plans for a jail expansion after hearing the jail has been releasing misdemeanor prisoners and is more than 250 inmates below capacity.
The Finance Committee voted to table action on plans to increase space for misdemeanor inmates and add some secure holding cells for women inmates. County Judge Bob Clinard briefed the panel on the construction plans but the justices of the peace balked on proceeding with the project when no one from the Sheriff's Office was present who could answer their questions.
"We were told the sheriff was releasing misdemeanor prisoners," Tom Allen, justice of the peace for district 4 and committee chairman, said during the discussion.
Allen said the misdemeanor inmates being held for cities generate jail fees for the county and the number of inmates and the resulting fees is built into the budget.
"We're not trying to get into the sheriff's business as to how he manages his jail," Allen said. "What we are interested in is the impact on our budget."
Harold Gage, who told the committee he had just been promoted to major and will be overseeing the jail and administrative operations, apologized for not having the information they requested. Gage said the Sheriff's Office is short-handed by 10 deputies, which contributed to the decision to release misdemeanor inmates. Gage said releasing misdemeanor prisoners on citation rather than holding them in the jail wasn't meant to be a continuing policy.
"It was a security problem," Gage said.
Gage also told the committee the county transferred 44 inmates to the state Department of Corrections just last week, which raised more questions.
Barry Moehring, justice of the peace for District 15, said he wants more information from state officials on measures being considered to reduce the number of state inmates being held in county jails and from local district judges about their plans to make use of the misdemeanor space at the jail.
"There's way too much uncertainty out there right now," Moehring said. "I think we ought to table this until we know what's going on out at the jail."
Gage did say the jail population fluctuates unpredictably.
"You can't predict what the numbers are going to be," he said. "It goes up and down. Sometimes it gets to where you can't hold anybody."
Brent Meyers, justice of the peace for District 14, argued against tabling the project.
"It took a long time to develop this plan," Meyers said. "It was tentatively approved. Now we hear some prisoners have been released and we're not going to do it. We're flying by the seat of our pants here. 'We've got some new information, so let's put it off.'"
Allen said the Quorum Court has always required elected officials and department heads to attend meetings where they are asking for money.
"We asked for the sheriff to be here to address these things and he's not here," Allen said. "Someone is here but he's new and hasn't been fully briefed. If you're going to request personnel, capital or whatever, you have to come before us so we can ask questions and get answers. That's taking care of taxpayer's money."
Jail plans
Benton County Judge Bob Clinard presented the county's Finance Committee with plans to add space to two areas of the jail for about $2 million. The plans would add about space for 65 to 70 misdemeanor prisoners to the jail's F Pod and also add six secure holding cells to H Pod, where the county houses women prisoners. Clinard said construction of the additions would take about eight months if the project is approved.
Source: Staff Report
General News on 03/11/2016