Budget Cuts Force Closings of Programs, Floor.
Come the end of February, the fourth floor of the Wayne County OH Jail and the entire Discipline & Rehabilitation Center (DRC) will close.
With a spiraling economy, county departments have been forced to make a 10 percent cut, and that means a little more than $600,000 for the Sheriff’s Office. The decision is causing many who use the resources of both facilities to find alternatives to replace what is being lost.
Since it started tracking data in 2005, the DRC has been responsible for between 26,000-32,000 hours of community service per year, according to Director Ron Dessecker, assigning residents to non-profits and local municipalities for community service … Dessecker said he believes the program has come a long way, and is especially helpful with the economic downturn. “The unemployment is horrible, but at least they are doing something because the fines and costs are being taken care of,” Dessecker said. Residents at the DRC, which can hold a maximum of 74, can work off court costs and fines with community service.
At the jail, Capt. James Richards will have to find a way to do the same job, but with less space. After the fourth floor closes, the jail will hold 78 inmates instead of a maximum of 102. “The fourth floor is a valuable bed space in the jail; we’re just going to be concentrating on avenues on how we can operate with less bed space here at our facility,” Richards said … With the closings, the Sheriff’s Office will have to find new ways to hold violent and nonviolent offenders. The DRC costs about $30 per day to hold a person, and the jail costs $60 per day, Maurer said, adding housing them out-of-county will cost between $75-$100 per day.
There is a lot more operational detail in the Daily Record.