Proposed South County facility would handle inmates
from new courthouse
By David Marsh
Porterville - With an official endorsement from the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, Tulare County plans to join 25 other counties competing for a share of almost $603 million in state AB 900 jail expansion funds.
After supervisors endorsed the plan at their regular meeting this week, Sheriff Bill Wittman will now ask the state for up to $60 million to build a new South County Detention Facility (SCDF) in Porterville, a facility initially designed to house about 200 inmates.
The state is offering the money to counties as they scramble to find jail space to accommodate the flow of inmates into local jails under Governor Jerry Brown's AB 109 realignment plan. County officials said the state funds will afford an opportunity to plan for future growth in the jail population while filling an immediate need in an underserved area of the county.
The SCDF would handle the projected flow of inmates to and from Porterville's new $93 million South Valley Justice Center (SVJC), said Undersheriff Dahl Cleek. The courthouse complex, which will include nine court rooms, is scheduled to break ground in February and open in the fall of 2013.
But the funding for the new jail, which would open in 2016, is not without its pitfalls for the county as AB 900 will require the county to put up 10% in matching funds for the project, approximately $6 million. In papers filed with the Board of Supervisors, the sheriff's department estimates that staffing for the new jail will cost $6,122,820 annually.
Initial projections call for the jail to provide 70 jobs.
“Some of the money for staffing will be AB 109 funds,” said Jean Rousseau, the county's administrative officer, “in addition to money saved through operational efficiencies not having to transport inmates from Sequoia Field to Porterville.” The sheriff's department estimates $550,000 per year in transportation savings if the new jail is built.
Staffing for the new jail is likely to add to the sheriff's department's current operating budget of just over $80 million for 2011-2012.
“We're looking at around 200 inmate capacity, but we're also looking at asking the state for more money to increase capacity in the future,” Rousseau said, adding that the county is still studying the application process. Counties must submit their applications by Jan. 11. Grant awards are expected to be announced in March.
Counties have been ranked on a list by the state's Corrections Standards Authority using factors which include the percentage of inmates that each committed to state custody in the 2010 calendar year. Tulare County is ranked third among eight medium-sized counties, which will compete for $200 million of the almost $603 million the state will award. Among other medium sized counties, Santa Barbara, asking for $80 million for a new jail, is ranked fourth, while Stanislaus County, ranked second ahead of Tulare County, is also asking for $80 million.
In order to receive the money, a resolution from the county Board of Supervisors must accompany the application for funding, stating that the county will staff and occupy the facility within 90 days of the date of completion. The 100 empty jail beds that Tulare County currently has are in a long unused portion of the Adult Pre-Trial Facility that has remained empty since its construction in 1997 due to budget-related staffing shortages.
The language built into AB 900 by
the legislature explicitly forbids counties from building and 'banking'
new jails constructed with the funds. The state would own the facility
for the 25 year life of the bonds before relinquishing ownership to the
county.
According to Rousseau and Cleek, the county has identified additional
projects of interest for further jail expansion, including using inmate
labor to rehabilitate long-dormant buildings at the county's old road
camp, closed in 2003.
But the current round of jail funding could be the cash-strapped state's last hurrah as it struggles to help counties grapple with issues related to their new-found responsibilities for housing thousands of inmates diverted from the state's overcrowded prisons.
“At this point in time there are not any additional future funds identified for jail expansion,” said Leslie Heller, a spokesperson for the Corrections Standard Authority. “Obviously, some losers will be turned away as there are simply not enough funds for all of the proposed projects.”
Funding for AB 900 is generated through
the sale of lease revenue bonds. The legislation was signed into law in
2007 by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“Obviously AB 900 is an opportunity for the county,” said
Cleek. “We would all be remiss if we didn't take those funds and
look to our future succession and strategic planning for the county for
our jails.”
Cleek said a study done almost two years ago pegged the cost of a new Porterville jail at around $42 million.
The new jail would be built around a 'hub' in the center, with housing pods built as the spokes going outward, according to Cleek, allowing future expansion as funds become available. “We're looking at a minimum of around 200 beds,” he said, “but it could be more likely around 300.”
The sheriff's dept. received $2.8 million from the state for the current fiscal year to fund the realignment plan. Although the state has promised additional funding to the counties in the following years, counties throughout the state are worried that additional funding is not guaranteed.
Californians to Protect Public Safety and Local Services, a coalition which includes the California State Association, the California State Sheriffs' Association and Chief Probation Officers has filed a constitutional amendment ballot measure for the 2012 election which would guarantee future AB 109 funding for counties.
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