Commissioners pull jail-overcrowding ordinance from the agenda, say a decision is still weeks away
How we attribute this: Friedrich (speaker_187): addressed directly by the chair immediately before speaking, "Mr. Friedrich, you have come in here from your court appointment here." [t=1322], per the meeting's speaker roster (probable, one direct address). Dave (speaker_192): introduced by Friedrich, "I'd like to introduce Dave. So I reached out to Dave a couple days ago." [t=1334], and later addressed directly by the chair, "Dave, you mentioned one thing." [t=1852], per the meeting's speaker roster (probable, introduced plus later direct address).
Who it touches: Anyone who has asked why the jail is over capacity, or who pays county taxes that could eventually fund a jail expansion or a community corrections building, is affected — the county has not yet decided which project to pursue or when.
A county official identified in the meeting as Friedrich told commissioners the county continues to house 25 to 50 inmates outside the county because of jail overcrowding — averaging about 30 this summer — at a cost of roughly $400,000 to $600,000 a year. (22:52, 22:59, 0:23:14 — open the recording, cued to 23 minutes 14 seconds
He said residents regularly ask the commissioners what will be done about it, but that the county isn't ready to put forward an ordinance today, and instead wants a group of people who deal with the jail every day — judges, the sheriff's department, the prosecutor, and others — to study whether the fix should be an expanded community corrections center or an added jail pod, and bring back a recommendation. (23:45, 0:24:17 — open the recording, cued to 24 minutes 17 seconds
An attorney identified as Dave, who has handled the county's federal jail class-action lawsuit since 2016, said he has a meeting scheduled with the judges next week to go over the options, along with staffing problems caused by moving inmates to the courthouse for hearings — which he said has forced mandatory overtime for correctional officers and contributed to turnover — and two video courtrooms built into the jail in 2021 that have never been used. (26:13, 0:26:46 — open the recording, cued to 26 minutes 46 seconds
An ordinance that had been placed on today's agenda addressing the jail decision was withdrawn and not brought forward. 0:30:32 — open the recording, cued to 30 minutes 32 seconds
More from the record
- Out-of-county inmate housing and cost0:22:52 (22 minutes 52 seconds)
- Current average about 30 inmates0:22:59 (22 minutes 59 seconds)
- Not ready for an ordinance today0:23:45 (23 minutes 45 seconds)
- Meeting with judges scheduled next week0:26:13 (26 minutes 13 seconds)
- 27:160:27:16 (27 minutes 16 seconds)
Outcome
No vote taken; ordinance withdrawn from today's agenda
No vote taken; the ordinance was pulled from today's agenda. Commissioners said they are waiting on a recommendation after the county's outside jail counsel meets with judges next week, before returning with a proposed ordinance.
This summary was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor against the recording and documents linked above. Nothing publishes without a resolvable source.