Jail Coalition calls for transparency in jail planning process

The Montgomery

County Jail Coalition formed in early 2020 to educate the public on the process to plan for the future of the county jail and advocate for humane and sensible alternatives to incarceration—to reduce the local jail population and eliminate the need to build a large, new jail in downtown Dayton. The Coalition wrote an open letter to Montgomery County Commissioners Judy Dodge, Deborah Lieberman, and Carolyn Rice, and Sheriff Rob Streck.

On Oct. 21, more than 50 community members gathered to outline a process that would meet the public’s expectation of transparency in the decision-making process surrounding a new jail. We remain concerned that they have indicated they are waiting for draft jail plans from HDR before engaging in a public dialogue around options

(HDR is the consultant retained for a contract surpassing $600,000, tasked to develop the proposals). It is imperative to begin listening to their community before drafts are received in order to be able to fully evaluate the draft plans. In an attempt to educate the community and answer our questions, we invited Dodge, Lieberman, Rice and Streck to attend a public town hall this month. They declined, so we held an event focused on transparency. We write today to share the results of that conversation and to ask them to implement these processes into the jail decision-making process.

The County must provide time for community input. The process has taken almost two years. At least four months must be set aside for community meetings and input. Furthermore, the County must demonstrate how the public’s voice will be included in plans. Whether through a public vote or a vote by a representative committee, we want to know that input will be taken seriously. The discussion generated ideas that fall into three categories.

Accessibility and

Input: Utilize all channels of communication to invite input; at least three weeks notice of public input meetings; make language of updates and communication easy for laypeople to understand (“plain language”); use multiple languages to ensure access; and public meetings should be hybrid in-person/virtual, at multiple times to allow for working people to attend, and held in different geographic areas.

Representation: Stakeholder representation should include diverse people, especially those who are directly impacted and have experience with incarceration; consultants should have a full understanding of mass incarceration and jail population reduction strategies; and the County should rely on credible experts to advise on options to address the root causes of incarceration, like bail reform, citation and release, and community-based treatment for mental health and substance use challenges.

Accountability: Transparency on funding sources and cost; publish timeline of jail planning and construction; and make meeting notes and presentations accessible to the public. These should be available online and at no cost.

We will continue our dialogue with a Town Hall on Decarceration at 6 p.m., Thursday. We invite the Commission and the Sheriff ’s office to participate in positive dialogue with their constituents.

Responses from Montgomery County Administrator Michael Colbert and Sheriff Rob Streck will be published in tomorrow’s paper.