Corrections Task Force Project Memorandum
The recommendations of the task force formed by the County Board of Supervisors in Utopia County to address jail overcrowding has identified a number of recommendations relevant to such a facility. First, due to often significant fluctuations experienced in Utopia County in terms of inmate population (Dean, 2009), it is recommended that a holding jail that books inmates at a low rate but holds them for some time be constructed. Such a facility should be built and run by the public governing authority, specifically the county, to serve the needs of the county and other related governmental units. This will invariably require the expenditure of funds and the hiring and maintenance of a professional jail staff and related services (Kuhles, 2005).
It is anticipated that a total of 200 inmates evenly divided between males and females aged 21 and above will be housed in this holding facility. In similar operations such as those undertaken in Montgomery County, Texas, 200 federal inmates were housed in 2005 at a similar facility at a rate of $41 per day. This project was financed without raising property taxes due to increases in property value and Utopia County will enjoy a similar benefit. It is anticipated that the facility construction costs will be in the range of $10 to $15 million and will require a minimum of 54 new personnel, most of them civilian detention officers (Kuhles, 2005).
These data reflect the costs that are associated with jail expansion in Montgomery County, Texas. In the Montgomery County instance, using the holding jail to house 200 federal inmates at the 2005 rate of $41 per day brought in an estimated $2.1 million annually which was more than sufficient to finance facility operation (Kuhles, 2005). Given that the rate for housing prisoners in a holding jail is likely to have increased since 2005, Utopia County can anticipate a rapid return on its i...