Posted 11:46 pm Wednesday, July 14, 2010
New Jail Plan Would Bypass Voters
By ADAM RUSSELL
Staff Writer
The new Smith County jail plan may come with a new twist — no place on the ballot.
Members of the Commissioners Court are considering issuing certificates of obligation as a way to expand and improve the county jail.
Certificates of obligation allow entities to take on debt without putting bond proposals before voters. And even those commissioners staunchly opposed to bypassing voters for capital improvement funding in the past are considering them as an option.
Staff Writer
The new Smith County jail plan may come with a new twist — no place on the ballot.
Members of the Commissioners Court are considering issuing certificates of obligation as a way to expand and improve the county jail.
Certificates of obligation allow entities to take on debt without putting bond proposals before voters. And even those commissioners staunchly opposed to bypassing voters for capital improvement funding in the past are considering them as an option.
Commissioner Jeff Warr has prepared a $33 million, 385-bed jail renovation and expansion project to be unveiled at a 3 p.m. special meeting Tuesday.
For months, Warr worked to produce a plan that he believed would relieve jail overcrowding, reduce costs and safety concerns, increase efficiency and meet state requirements. The plans received the Texas Commission on Jail Standards’ approval last week, and he informed the court he would make a presentation for their consideration next week.
During that time he also has contemplated how to pay for it. He admits that he “may be run out of town on a rail” by merely mentioning taking on debt without taxpayer approval.
For months, Warr worked to produce a plan that he believed would relieve jail overcrowding, reduce costs and safety concerns, increase efficiency and meet state requirements. The plans received the Texas Commission on Jail Standards’ approval last week, and he informed the court he would make a presentation for their consideration next week.
During that time he also has contemplated how to pay for it. He admits that he “may be run out of town on a rail” by merely mentioning taking on debt without taxpayer approval.
But, Warr said he doesn’t care and added he is willing to fall on the political sword because, as a businessman, he believes it would be the right thing to do.
“The thing is, I am going to get criticism because people think I want to build a jail. I don’t want to build a jail, but I can’t go to bed without putting every option out there to stop wasting (taxpayers’) money,” he said. “We’re wasting their money.”
The county has shipped prisoners to as many as eight surrounding counties since 2004 to stay in compliance with state jail population standards. The county has spent more than $15 million housing prisoners out-of-county since it began.
More than $2.3 million was budgeted for out-of-county, shipping, medical and housing this year.
“The thing is, I am going to get criticism because people think I want to build a jail. I don’t want to build a jail, but I can’t go to bed without putting every option out there to stop wasting (taxpayers’) money,” he said. “We’re wasting their money.”
The county has shipped prisoners to as many as eight surrounding counties since 2004 to stay in compliance with state jail population standards. The county has spent more than $15 million housing prisoners out-of-county since it began.
More than $2.3 million was budgeted for out-of-county, shipping, medical and housing this year.
In the last four years, voters have rejected multiple jail proposals. Warr describes the situation in simple terms — either the county can become a landlord or remain a tenant.
On Tuesday, 200 inmates were in other counties, said Chief Deputy Bobby Garmon. The county has averaged around 150 out-of-county prisoners each week this year, he said. At more than $40 a day on average, or around $200,000 a month, Warr said, Smith County residents are paying for other counties’ infrastructure and have nothing to show for it.
Past opposition voices decried the cost of housing inmates elsewhere. It costs the county as much to house them here. Warr said that logic is flawed because the county continues to spend $40 a day per prisoner, because that is what it takes to run and staff the jail system, plus the cost of shipping.
“We’re double dipping,” he said.
He has asked County Auditor Ann Wilson to calculate the costs and savings associated with shipping inmates versus building the jail.
She is expected to sit down with jail administrators today to begin crunching those numbers.
Garmon said the dollar-per-day costs also do not take into account the fuel and logistical costs associated with moving the prisoners to and from other counties. Other costs, such as out-of-county inmate medical, are not paid for at the indigent rate, as in Smith County.
Additionally, Garmon said, other counties are more likely to give prisoners unnecessary medical care to avoid litigation in some cases.
WHERE THEY STAND
Commissioner Bill McGinnis said recently that the county must do a better job controlling its inmate costs. He said at a recent budget workshop that the county is “at (other counties’) mercy” when it comes to per-day housing and medical rates.
McGinnis has said in the past he would not be in favor of issuing bonds without voter approval. However, McGinnis has consistently expressed his frustration with what he considers “wasteful spending” and the lack of control Smith County has over its own jail population and the cost to house them.
County Judge Joel Baker said last year he wants voter approval for a jail. He said at the time that the history of the project and the failure of multiple jail plans dictate a need for approval.
Baker said he has recently questioned his position. On Tuesday, he seemed open to the idea of issuing debt and said he doesn’t see certificates of obligation as a means of bypassing voters. Baker said if the court decides to issue certificates of obligation, the public could still petition to have the bond placed on the ballot.
“Nobody’s heart is in the jail (projects), not the court, not the public,” he said regarding communitywide frustrations with past jail bond proposals. “I always wanted voter approval, but I am leaning that way (toward approving certificates of obligation).”
Baker said he has not “fully committed” support to issuing debt but said the current system is “not sustainable.”
He said costs continue to rise and that after six years of spending millions of dollars the court should be committed to all its options for the good of the community, no matter the backlash.
Commissioner JoAnn Hampton believes the court should be committed to its options. She said as stewards of taxpayer dollars it is the duty of the court to make the best fiscal decisions possible, no matter what the circumstances.
“When we first started out with (a jail plan) it was about putting it before the voters but now it’s to the point where it has to get done,” she said. “People elected us to make the tough decisions and based on what is presented to me on Tuesday, that is what I will do.”
Commissioner Terry Phillips has said in the past that he would not support certificates of obligation. Phillips was not available for further comment for this story.
Former commissioner, taxpayer advocate and Grassroots activist JoAnn Fleming would not pass judgment on the possibility of certificates being issued. She has been outspoken against them in the past as a taxpayer and public official.
On Tuesday, however, she said she would wait until the project unveiling, reception of the county’s operational cost estimates and possible savings and efficiencies the improved facility would bring before she makes a judgment.
Warr said efficiencies in the book-in area, adding an infirmary and video visitation, and moving the kitchen and laundry area will all save taxpayer dollars. He said the plan will be the most efficient design possible.
Mrs. Fleming said she has never been “keen” on jurisdictions issuing certificates of obligation. She said there is no doubt the county is losing money but is concerned about the debt load.
She said she has no concerns about Warr’s plan, just the timing, amidst an uncertain economy and negative public sentiment toward government.
Issuing certificates of obligation would mean a tax rate increase and Mrs. Fleming said that increase and the possibility of an additional tax rate increase to cover the projected budget shortfall could add to that negative public sentiment.
“I know (Warr) has done the best he could do without even looking at (the plan),” she said. “He takes difficult problems and tries to find solutions. That is his character.”
Mrs. Fleming said the plan would also have to avoid the political minefield that has plagued past proposals.
POSSIBLE ELECTION?
The last day to call an election is Aug. 24. The court must notify its intent to issue certificates of obligation at least 31 days prior to issuance to allow the public time to protest. The court would have to announce its intent by July 23.
Residents may protest the issuance of certificates by filing a petition with signatures from 5 percent of the registered county voters who voted in the last gubernatorial election. If they gathered the necessary signatures, the issue could be put to a vote in November.
Though three bond proposals have failed in recent years, Warr said he believes a new bond election would pass. Certificates of obligation, by his calculation, makes the best business sense, because it would move construction of an 18 to 24 month project up several months, saving the county millions of dollars.
Warr also believes that a down economy can benefit the county because construction estimates are lower than before the recession hit. He said the county’s bond rating coupled with record low interest rates make this a great time for a necessary capital improvement.
His frustrations with the political and economic quagmire the jail has become can be summed up in the fact that Smith County tax payers have helped another county pay for its new jail facility ahead of schedule, he said.
Warr said he expects public reaction for promoting certificates of obligation but hopes it will be based on economic implications of shipping prisoners and good business. Baker said though he is questioning his own position on issuing debt, he does not question that certificates of obligation are likely the most fiscally responsible option regarding an unpopular but necessary public service. “I like Commissioner Warr’s analogy about (building a) sewer system. You don’t want to see it. You don’t want to smell it. But at the end of the day you have to have it,” Baker said. “At the end of the day, we are mandated by the state of Texas to have (a jail). And we want to build it in the most fiscally responsible way we can.”
On Tuesday, 200 inmates were in other counties, said Chief Deputy Bobby Garmon. The county has averaged around 150 out-of-county prisoners each week this year, he said. At more than $40 a day on average, or around $200,000 a month, Warr said, Smith County residents are paying for other counties’ infrastructure and have nothing to show for it.
Past opposition voices decried the cost of housing inmates elsewhere. It costs the county as much to house them here. Warr said that logic is flawed because the county continues to spend $40 a day per prisoner, because that is what it takes to run and staff the jail system, plus the cost of shipping.
“We’re double dipping,” he said.
He has asked County Auditor Ann Wilson to calculate the costs and savings associated with shipping inmates versus building the jail.
She is expected to sit down with jail administrators today to begin crunching those numbers.
Garmon said the dollar-per-day costs also do not take into account the fuel and logistical costs associated with moving the prisoners to and from other counties. Other costs, such as out-of-county inmate medical, are not paid for at the indigent rate, as in Smith County.
Additionally, Garmon said, other counties are more likely to give prisoners unnecessary medical care to avoid litigation in some cases.
WHERE THEY STAND
Commissioner Bill McGinnis said recently that the county must do a better job controlling its inmate costs. He said at a recent budget workshop that the county is “at (other counties’) mercy” when it comes to per-day housing and medical rates.
McGinnis has said in the past he would not be in favor of issuing bonds without voter approval. However, McGinnis has consistently expressed his frustration with what he considers “wasteful spending” and the lack of control Smith County has over its own jail population and the cost to house them.
County Judge Joel Baker said last year he wants voter approval for a jail. He said at the time that the history of the project and the failure of multiple jail plans dictate a need for approval.
Baker said he has recently questioned his position. On Tuesday, he seemed open to the idea of issuing debt and said he doesn’t see certificates of obligation as a means of bypassing voters. Baker said if the court decides to issue certificates of obligation, the public could still petition to have the bond placed on the ballot.
“Nobody’s heart is in the jail (projects), not the court, not the public,” he said regarding communitywide frustrations with past jail bond proposals. “I always wanted voter approval, but I am leaning that way (toward approving certificates of obligation).”
Baker said he has not “fully committed” support to issuing debt but said the current system is “not sustainable.”
He said costs continue to rise and that after six years of spending millions of dollars the court should be committed to all its options for the good of the community, no matter the backlash.
Commissioner JoAnn Hampton believes the court should be committed to its options. She said as stewards of taxpayer dollars it is the duty of the court to make the best fiscal decisions possible, no matter what the circumstances.
“When we first started out with (a jail plan) it was about putting it before the voters but now it’s to the point where it has to get done,” she said. “People elected us to make the tough decisions and based on what is presented to me on Tuesday, that is what I will do.”
Commissioner Terry Phillips has said in the past that he would not support certificates of obligation. Phillips was not available for further comment for this story.
Former commissioner, taxpayer advocate and Grassroots activist JoAnn Fleming would not pass judgment on the possibility of certificates being issued. She has been outspoken against them in the past as a taxpayer and public official.
On Tuesday, however, she said she would wait until the project unveiling, reception of the county’s operational cost estimates and possible savings and efficiencies the improved facility would bring before she makes a judgment.
Warr said efficiencies in the book-in area, adding an infirmary and video visitation, and moving the kitchen and laundry area will all save taxpayer dollars. He said the plan will be the most efficient design possible.
Mrs. Fleming said she has never been “keen” on jurisdictions issuing certificates of obligation. She said there is no doubt the county is losing money but is concerned about the debt load.
She said she has no concerns about Warr’s plan, just the timing, amidst an uncertain economy and negative public sentiment toward government.
Issuing certificates of obligation would mean a tax rate increase and Mrs. Fleming said that increase and the possibility of an additional tax rate increase to cover the projected budget shortfall could add to that negative public sentiment.
“I know (Warr) has done the best he could do without even looking at (the plan),” she said. “He takes difficult problems and tries to find solutions. That is his character.”
Mrs. Fleming said the plan would also have to avoid the political minefield that has plagued past proposals.
POSSIBLE ELECTION?
The last day to call an election is Aug. 24. The court must notify its intent to issue certificates of obligation at least 31 days prior to issuance to allow the public time to protest. The court would have to announce its intent by July 23.
Residents may protest the issuance of certificates by filing a petition with signatures from 5 percent of the registered county voters who voted in the last gubernatorial election. If they gathered the necessary signatures, the issue could be put to a vote in November.
Though three bond proposals have failed in recent years, Warr said he believes a new bond election would pass. Certificates of obligation, by his calculation, makes the best business sense, because it would move construction of an 18 to 24 month project up several months, saving the county millions of dollars.
Warr also believes that a down economy can benefit the county because construction estimates are lower than before the recession hit. He said the county’s bond rating coupled with record low interest rates make this a great time for a necessary capital improvement.
His frustrations with the political and economic quagmire the jail has become can be summed up in the fact that Smith County tax payers have helped another county pay for its new jail facility ahead of schedule, he said.
Warr said he expects public reaction for promoting certificates of obligation but hopes it will be based on economic implications of shipping prisoners and good business. Baker said though he is questioning his own position on issuing debt, he does not question that certificates of obligation are likely the most fiscally responsible option regarding an unpopular but necessary public service. “I like Commissioner Warr’s analogy about (building a) sewer system. You don’t want to see it. You don’t want to smell it. But at the end of the day you have to have it,” Baker said. “At the end of the day, we are mandated by the state of Texas to have (a jail). And we want to build it in the most fiscally responsible way we can.”
