Vote likely Wednesday on plan for county jail

Council's finance committee is to talk about the jail deal today.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- City council will consider approving a tentative agreement Wednesday to board city misdemeanor prisoners in the Mahoning County Jail.
Council had planned to approve legislation to permit the city's board of control to adopt the agreement at its Feb. 7 meeting but didn't have enough members present to do so via emergency measure. It received a first reading at that meeting.
Getting the needed six of seven members at Wednesday's meeting shouldn't be a problem, said Councilman Mark Memmer, D-7th and finance committee chairman.
Council members had numerous questions about the proposal at the Feb. 7 finance committee meeting, held just before that council meeting. The questions were primarily about the plan's cost and why Youngstown was the only community to have a tentative agreement with the county requiring it to pay a fee to house its misdemeanor prisoners.
The finance committee is to meet today at 5:30 p.m. in its caucus room at City Hall on Phelps Street to continue discussing the jail plan.
"This gives us another opportunity to ask more questions," Memmer said. "It's the only thing we'll discuss at the committee meeting."
At the Feb. 7 finance meeting, council decided to meet the next week to discuss the proposed jail deal. But because of scheduling, the earliest they could come together is today, Memmer said.
Here's the plan
Under the proposal, the county would house the first 71 city misdemeanor prisoners free beginning May 1. The city, however, would pay their meal costs, about 3 a day, and medical costs not covered by the county's health insurance.
Beginning with the 72nd city misdemeanor inmate and until the city reaches its ceiling of 221 inmates, the city would pay 68.84 per prisoner per day. That fee would include meals and medical costs.
The city's current agreement with the county has it paying 68.84 a day to house inmates at the jail charged with or convicted of violating city ordinances.
The proposal calls for the city to pay to house inmates at the jail and the county misdemeanant jail, expected to reopen in August after being closed for two years, for not only city ordinance violators but those charged with state misdemeanors.
The ordinance authorizes the board of control -- the mayor, finance director and law director -- to spend about 125,000 annually for the county to house city prisoners.
The city's annual payment to the county currently is about 50,000. Mayor Jay Williams said the new deal would increase that yearly cost by about 20,000 at best.
skolnick@vindy.com