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Youngstown moves to reduce inmate housing costs
The city is ‘bleeding money,’ a Youngstown official says.
YOUNGSTOWN — The city’s board of control is expected to sign a contract Monday that would provide at least a temporary reduction in Youngstown’s escalating expense for housing its prisoners.
The contract would have Community Corrections Association Inc. electronically monitor up to 50 of the city’s indigent misdemeanor prisoners who’d serve time on house arrest. CCA would receive $3,500 for the service for this month. The contract would be automatically renewed for September and October at the same monthly fee unless either side opts out of the deal.
While the contract is in place, the city would seek proposals from agencies to provide this house-arrest service on a permanent basis, said Anthony Farris, the city’s deputy law director. CCA is interested in a long-term agreement.
The contract is needed because the cost of housing prisoners in the Mahoning County jail has far exceeded the city’s estimate, Farris said.
“We are bleeding money,” he said.
Youngstown agreed in February 2007 to pay the county for certain inmates. It was part of a federal consent agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by county jail prisoners regarding overcrowding and understaffing there.
The deal has the county housing the first 71 city misdemeanor prisoners for the cost of meals (about $1 each) and medical costs not covered by the county’s insurance.
From the 72nd city misdemeanor inmate through the city’s maximum amount of 221 prisoners at the jail, the cost is $80 each.
On Thursday, the city had 141 prisoners at the county jail. That day alone cost the city $5,600.
That’s not been unusual since September 2007, Farris said.
The city paid $317,230 to the county last year, most of it during the final four months of 2007, Farris said. The city had budgeted $125,000 last year for this purpose.
Most of the city’s prisoners in county jail are there for driving infractions, primarily driving with a suspended license or without a license, Farris said.
Through the first six months of the year, the city’s paid about $550,000 to the county to house its prisoners. If something isn’t done to curb this, Farris said the city’s inmate bill to the county could hit $1.5 million.
The city budgeted $750,000 from its general fund for this purpose, he said. The city is working to make about $3 million in cuts to stop the general fund from ending this year with a deficit.
Without this deal, the city would exceed that $750,000 figure very quickly, Farris said.
Youngstown Municipal Court judges say they need the ability to put those who violate the law in jail.
“We’ve advocated using electronic monitoring arrests over using jail space for some time,” said Robert A. Douglas Jr., the court’s administrative and presiding judge.
“This will reduce the amount of money we spend to house prisoners,” the judge said of the CCA deal. “We can more carefully plan [the housing of inmates] with an agreement in place for electronic monitoring.”
skolnick@vindy.com