FARMINGTON — Franklin County commissioners voted Tuesday to make a $92,124 payment to the state Board of Corrections for the county’s jail.
The panel voted in September to withhold the first payment of 2013-14 until a state blue ribbon commission issued a report on a unified county jail system in early December. That decision came on the heels of the Board of Corrections’ Sept. 17 vote to deny the county’s request to open the Franklin County Detention Center to a full service jail.
The jail was changed to a 72-hour holding facility when the state consolidated the county jail system on July 1, 2009.
Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. said that the commission’s recommendations would strengthen the Board of Corrections and give it the authority to manage the board in its current form.
The commission identified 10 major problems in the unified system. They included an unrealistic funding process; no jail standardization; too many jails “not obeying the rules;” and mental health needs inadequately addressed, according to the report’s executive summary.
The commission analyzed the root causes that contributed to the creation of these problems, which included lack of vision that the jails are part of a statewide criminal system, lack of ownership of the hybrid organization by the Legislature and administration; and lack of incentives and disincentives for system collaboration among the counties.
The commission considered four basic structural models for getting at the problems and recommended changes. Among the suggestions is to amend the law to strengthen the board’s authority.
According to the summary, it appears the budget is likely to be approximately $2.8 million short for 2013-14 given certain assumptions.
“There is no way out of the system. We’re stuck with it,” Nichols told commissioners.
The only good thing about it is at the last Board of Corrections meeting the committee agreed to send a letter to the Legislature and administration that Franklin County should be a full-service jail, with the caveat that the Legislature finds a way to fund the $630,000 the county sends to the Board of Corrections, he said.
Now, pretrial prisoners go to the Maine Correctional Center in Windham and do not get programs they would in county lockup, Nichols said.
He is hoping they can get the Legislature to provide $630,000 to make the Farmington jail full service, he said.
As for the Board of Corrections payment of $92,124, he said it’s a good idea to make it. Each sheriff in the state agreed to submit budgets that reflect the actual cost of running a jail. He submitted a budget to run a fully operational jail and the $92,124 is what would be left over to pay to the state, he said.
Nichols said he has consulted with Somerset County Sheriff Barry DeLong to see about taking prisoners if necessary.
DeLong agreed the money should follow the inmate, he said. Somerset would take Franklin County inmates for $55 a day, Nichols said. The state pays $22 a day, but Somerset is currently not taking prisoners from other counties because it is in a legal dispute with the Board of Corrections.
Now, Nichols said he has two maximum-security inmates he cannot find beds for.
Commissioner Gary McGrane of Jay said he thought the commission did a wonderful job identifying the problems and identifying solutions to them. He said everyone needs to work together and present a united front to get the recommendations approved and make the system work.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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