Jail pact waiting on federal ratification

The deal changes the way the city pays the county to house inmates.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- An agreement between the city and Mahoning County over boarding misdemeanor prisoners is awaiting ratification by a federal judicial panel.
The city's three-member board of control approved a deal Friday to house city misdemeanor prisoners in the Mahoning County jail.
City council approved legislation Wednesday permitting the board -- composed of the mayor, law director and finance director -- to approve the agreement. County commissioners ratified it Feb. 7.
The agreement is needed to comply with a federal order to make the county jail system constitutional. Inmates won a federal lawsuit against the county two years ago regarding understaffing and overcrowding at the jail.
A three-member federal judicial panel overseeing the jail issue must ratify the city-county deal. City and county officials expect the agreement to satisfy the judges.
The agreement will be sent to the judges shortly with the hope they'll approve it as soon as possible, said city Law Director Iris Torres Guglucello, a board of control member.
A matter of money
The deal spells out how much the city will pay to house inmates.
Currently, the city pays 68.84 a day to house inmates at the jail charged with or convicted of only city ordinance violations. The city pays about 50,000 annually to the county under that arrangement.
The new deal would require the city to pay for all of its misdemeanor prisoners, those charged under city ordinance and those charged with state misdemeanors.
It also calls for Youngstown to only pay the cost of meals, about 3 a day, and medical costs not covered by the county's health insurance for the first 71 city misdemeanor prisoners, effective May 1.
Beginning with the 72nd city misdemeanor inmate and until the city reaches its ceiling of 221 inmates, the city would pay a flat fee of 68.84 per prisoner per day.
The legislation approved by the board of control doesn't have a financial cap, but lists an estimated cost to the city of 125,000. Mayor Jay Williams, a board of control member, estimates the city would pay about 70,000 annually under the new deal.
Williams stressed the importance of voters approving a 0.5-percent continuous county sales tax on the May 8 ballot. The tax brings in about 14 million annually to the county. If the tax fails, the county won't have the money to properly fund the jail, the mayor said.
skolnick@vindy.com