New City Jail May Cost County Big Time
When the Springfield OR jail opens this fall, about $200,000 will vanish from the coffers of the Lane County Jail in Eugene. Reported by the Eugene Register-Guard.
That’s how much Springfield pays the county annually to reserve five beds in the jail, — beds that Springfield no longer will need. The loss to the county, if not recovered elsewhere, may mean a decline in service at the county jail. “That will be an impact to us,” Lane County Sheriff Russ Burger said. “We’ve got to figure out how we’re going to make that up.”
But the county could find itself in an even trickier position: a bidding war with Springfield to lease out jail beds. The jail relies heavily on renting out beds to supplement the money it gets from the county general fund: Of the county’s $28 million correctional budget, which includes the jail and many other programs, more than $18 million comes from outside sources, including renting space in the jail. The money the county earns through leasing beds helps cover some of the cost of running the 127 beds that the county provides for local offenders. “For us, (renting beds) is an absolute necessity,” Burger said. “We would not be able to house as many local offenders if we didn’t lease beds out.”
The U.S. Marshals Service pays the county about $4.5 million a year to rent beds for federal violators. Eugene pays about $800,000 to reserve beds in the county jail. Another $4.5 million comes from the state to rent beds for certain categories of offenders and to fund other correctional work, said Capt. Doug Hooley, county adult corrections division commander.
Competition from Springfield would obviously be unwelcome.
County-City Issues, County-State Issues, Federal Payments, OR Lane County, Oregon, Prison and Jail Construction, US Marshall's Service