County sheriffs hopeful for jail funding in budget

— Construction and renovation funds may soon be available for Ohio’s jails, although budget negotiations are still underway.

Ohio Budget Director Kim Murnieks recently detailed budget plans to the Ohio finance committee, including $50 million in capital improvements for local Ohio jails.

In a press release, the County Commissioners Association of Ohio (CCAO) relayed their appreciation of the funding support for county jail construction and renovation included in the state’s capital appropriations bill.

Sheriff Al Solomon acknowledged the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association has also been pushing for more jail funding and he gave credit to Hancock County Sheriff Michael Heldman who sits on the corrections committee.

“They want to make sure they don’t forget these stand-alone jails,” Solomon said, adding it was a good thing that legislators were coming through with an agreement.

“Especially now, we can’t spend county money on this. If they are going to keep populating our jails, and they will keep populating our jails at the county level, they need to come up with the money. If you’re going to take care of the state penitentiaries, you take care of the county jails and you don’t make the public in Auglaize County pay for that. If you’re going to force us to be overpopulated when you are unloading your penitentiaries, then you need to get some funding down to local government to take care of the jails.”

Solomon detailed needs for a study of local jail needs last year.

Auglaize County’s immediate needs — included in a proposed first phase — would be to double overall capacity for female inmates. Currently the Auglaize County Jail can house 11 women. Immediate needs also include additional separation of violent and non-violent criminals as well as expanded segregation, including medical, mental or disciplinary lockdown areas and creation of an alternate fire exit from the current medium male inmate area to help meet code requirements.

The second phase of the requests ask for a stand- alone addition tied to the existing building via an enclosed corridor, a dedicated central control and additional male inmate housing.

Option 1, which would address the first phase, would involve remodeling the current outdoor recreation area at a cost ranging between $1.02 million and $1.2 million.

Option 2, which addresses both phases, would involve an addition between 8,500 and 9,250 square feet, adding several female and male inmate units. This options costs between $2.9 million and $3.2 million. Estimates were provided more than a year ago by Matt Quinter, project engineer for Baumer Construction.

Auglaize County Commissioner John Bergman remained skeptical of available funding as the jail was built in 1998.

“It’s got some age on it, but it’s still considered relatively new,” he said.

CCAO President Carl Davis applauded the state support.

“This jail construction funding begins a state/ county partnership that will assist counties with construction and renovation costs to help us meet the challenges of providing safe and secure county jail facilities that help to ensure public safety,” he said. “Ohio’s county jails, by their nature, are faced with continued costly updates and repairs to the structural, mechanical and operating systems in order to provide an environment that is capable of addressing and managing the challenges of the inmate population. CCAO has expressed concern that in many instances, our county jails are unable to adequately perform their mission within the criminal justice system due to their age and structural conditions. State capital funding for county jail construction and renovation, therefore, has been a major priority for counties.”