FARMINGTON — The Maine Board of Corrections has increased the Franklin County’s payment by $100,000 to support other jails in the state.
The board’s June 17 action increases the payment to $730,576 to the state’s operational support fund, formerly known as the investment fund.
Franklin County commissioners will take up the matter at their meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 24, at the county courthouse.
It is the only jail of the three that had its mission changed in 2009 that will see an increase.
The Franklin County jail lost its full-time status July 1, 2009, when the state took over the county jails and the jail became a 72-hour holding facility. County residents rallied, attended hearings, sent letters and spoke directly to the Board of Corrections last year, telling it of the need to have the jail be returned to full-time operation. The BOC voted not to restore the full-time status, basically saying the board needed the money to fund other jails.
County taxpayers raise $1.6 million for the jail annually, which is the cap developed in 2008 by the state for the consolidated jail system.
It costs about $1 million to operate the jail and the remaining $630,576 was sent to the state until Tuesday’s action.
The county has been saving money for some years in case there is a catastrophic event or the jail is restored to full-time status. It has about $400,000 saved, according to County Clerk Julie Magoon. The county is allowed to save some money under state law, she said.
In a letter sent to county jail administrators across the state Thursday, BOC Chairman Joel Merry wrote that on Tuesday the board considered emerging financial issues that will affect the board’s ability to fund the 2014-15 county jail budgets that it previously approved.
According to the letter, the board approved flat-funded budgets for 2014-15 that generally maintained for the year the same level of county expenditures that were budgeted in 2013-14. These budgets also approved the same level of disbursements from the operational support fund and the same level of payments to the fund for county jails with reduced missions that were budgeted for in 2013-14, the letter states.
However, a review and analysis by the board’s Executive Director Ryan Thornell and financial analyst Mallory Pollard revealed the BOC has been overbudgeting distributions to county jails. Beginning in 2011-12, the board approved distributions from the operational support fund totaling $9.9 million for each fiscal year despite the fund revenues that have been significantly below this level, according to the letter.
For example, in 2012-13 the support fund revenues totaled only $8.89 million, it states. The BOC has been covering the gap between budgeted distributions and accessible revenue using existing carry-forward funds from previous fiscal years.
“Our recent review, however, indicates that the carry-forward for (2014-15) will not be sufficient enough to cover the gap for FY2015. Consequently, (BOC) must reduce the amount of (operational support fund) distributions for (2014-15),” Merry wrote.
“In addition, our review revealed that the Franklin County Detention Center has been consistently generating a significant surplus each fiscal year,” he wrote. “Because the (center’s) mission was reduced to a 72-hour holding facility, it transfers net county assessment revenues to the (operational support fund)” pursuant to state law, he wrote.
These annual surpluses indicate that it would be appropriate to increase the center’s contributions to the support fund, Merry wrote.
The BOC approved a plan that will reduce the 2014-15 budgeted distributions from the fund from $9.9 million to $8.68 million and amends the 2014-15 budgets for county jails that receive support funds, he wrote.
Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. said the BOC saw that the county had some savings and wanted the county to be a team player and give $100,000 more.
Nichols said no. Under state law, the county can save some money. One heart-attack at the jail can cost $50,000 to $100,000, he said.
After Nichols and County Commissioner Fred Hardy of New Sharon left Tuesday’s meeting, Nichols said the BOC decided to take the $100,000 out of his operational budget.
“The whole thing is just very frustrating to me,” he said.
Nichols had gone to talk to the BOC about replacing one of the jail’s two transport vans that is deteriorating. The request was denied. Nichols was told to take the money out of the savings, he said.
Nichols said that come June 2015, he will be short money and doesn’t know what he will do.
“We are going to be very careful with what we are doing,” Nichols said. The county is the second poorest in the state and cannot to be anything but frugal, he said.
“We are a poor county,” he said.
But if it comes to the point that the jail runs out of money next year, officials may have to lay off employees and may have to become just an intake center or have to close down, he said.
If inmates cannot make bail within 72 hours, they are taken to Somerset County Jail in Madison.
Thornell said the the BOC is charged with implementing and overseeing a coordinated jail system.
“Thus the decisions of the board are made for the progression of the system, not in the favor or for the harm of one individual county jail,” he said.
Every jail had its budgets critically reviewed and analyzed and nearly every jail received a significant reduction in its budget for 2014-15, he said.
“We are entering into a financially difficult year for the jail system, and we recognize this,” Thornell said. “We have asked every jail to do their part in assisting us as we navigate the year. The decision of the board, as I recommended, better positions the Board of Corrections and the county jail system to request any necessary additional funding in the upcoming fiscal year’s supplemental funding request.”
dperry@sunjournal.com
Changes made by the Maine Board of Corrections on Tuesday for operational support funds affect nine of the 12 county jails that receive distributions. The total is $1.23 million less than they were as of April 15.
Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn will see no change in its support funds of $737,016. Neither will York at $1 million and Aroostook at $465,760.
Cumberland County will get $1.96 million, a decrease of $251,267.
Kennebec County will get $572,445, $79,689 less.
Somerset County will get $841,326, a decrease of $280,441.
For the jails that pay in to the support fund:
Oxford County will see no change. It will pay $187,073.
Waldo County will also see no change. It will pay in $890,128.
Franklin County will pay $100,000 more, making its payment $730,576.
Source: Maine Board of Corrections
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