For inmates in the Gallatin County jail work program, it just got a little more expensive to wear a distinctive orange clothing emblazoned with the words ”Gallatin County Inmate” while whacking weeds.

Sheriff Jim Cashell got the go-ahead from county commissioners Tuesday to charge inmates $10 to participate in the work program. Cashell said the fee was always part of the bargain but that his office “got away” from charging it in recent years. Report by Belgrade News.

The money, he said, will cover administration costs.

“With the increase in the number of folks (in the work program), we wanted to recoup some costs,” he said.

Local judges have been assigning more people to the work program rather than putting them behind bars, he said. State law allows some nonviolent offenders to work eight hours a day in lieu of sitting in jail.

Offenders receive credit for two days in jail for every day they work, and most have their sentence completed in less than five days.

“We have two vans of folks now, so it’s doubled,” he said.

In addition to charging the fee, the commission also agreed to ban cell phone use among offenders who are serving their time in the work program, he said.

In other business Tuesday:

• Commissioners appointed three new members to the Gallatin County Fair Board. Kwinci Tatarka, Betsy Heckel and John Shellenberger each will serve for two years.

The board was recently increased from seven to nine members, fairgrounds manger Sue Shockley said. The board has numerous subcommittees and members wanted to boost the board’s size to spread the burden around more.

“They wanted to increase the size because there is so much going on,” she said. “It’s good to have more input.”

The fair board is looking at several improvements to the facility as part of its master plan. The plan includes more ice rinks, a swimming facility and an events center, among other items. The board is also working with the city of Bozeman, Montana State University and local climbers to construct an 85-foot climbing tower to lure international climbing events to the area.

• The commission granted a preliminary plat extension for the Gateway Village minor subdivision. The land is owned by Bozeman resident David Loseff and is the potential site for a high-end RV park along U.S. Highway 191 near Gallatin Gateway.

The minor subdivision predated the RV park. Loseff has said he doesn’t want to give up the minor subdivision plat until the trailer park idea is more finalized.

Tammy Montana, Work Programs, Work Release

A Mississippi Department of Corrections inmate from the Forrest County Community Work Center mows along J.C. Burt Road in Forrest County. State inmates provided more than 3 million hours of labor during the 2010 fiscal year. / Ryan Moore | Hattiesburg American

Many states’ efforts to trim budgets have resulted in a reduction or elimination of inmate work programs, but not in Mississippi, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Tara Booth.

She said last month’s budget requests for FY 2013 to the legislative budget office didn’t include changes to any inmate work programs. Report by hattiesburgamerican.com.

“We’re asking for status quo,” she said.

She said although MDOC’s $339.19 million request for FY 2013 is about $73,000 less than its FY 2012 budget, none of the state’s 17 community work centers or four restitution centers will be affected.

Michigan and North Carolina are the most recent states to cut inmate work programs entirely. Several other states have reduced programs, including Florida, which cut its program by about 40 percent this year.

Michigan legislators also stopped funding the state’s 15 work crews this year.

“We actually stopped all but one work crew in September 2010,” Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Jon Cordell told USA Today. He said the community requesting work from the remaining crew fully funds its operation.

Halting the programs represents a $10 million savings to Michigan taxpayers.

North Carolina cut funding for all of its 127 work crews in 2009 – added back 39 last year – then cut them again in a new round of budget cuts said Department of Corrections spokesman Keith Acree. He said the state spent $4.78 million in FY 2008 – the last time the programs were in full operation.

Seventy-one of Florida’s 184 public work squads were lost when legislators trimmed $24 million from the the Department of Corrections 2010- 2011 budget, agency spokeswoman Jo Ellyn Rackleff said.

New York legislators are in the process of closing seven minimum- and medium-security prisons.

“That’s where the work crews come from,” said Peter Cutler, director of public relations for the state’s department of corrections. “And yes, there has been some discussion of scaling back the crews.”

While the loss of free labor has caused counties and municipalities in other states to rework their budgets, the millions of hours in labor Mississippi communities don’t have to pay for is here to stay.

Documents provided by Booth total the number of inmate labor hours from July 2009 to June 2010 at slightly more than 3 million – which adds up to $21.9 million in labor costs – when multiplied by the minimum wage.

Booth said state inmate work crews provide labor for cities, counties, state agencies and nonprofit organizations.

State inmates at the Forrest County Community Work Center provide labor throughout the county as well as for the Mississippi National Guard, the Hattiesburg office of South Mississippi’s American Red Cross chapter, the cities of Hattiesburg and Petal, Paul B. Johnson state park and Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center.

Brett Montague, readiness and response manager for the local American Red Cross chapter, said his organization appreciates the savings the inmate work program offers.

“It’s a real benefit to us because the Red Cross is a nonprofit organization,” he said.

Montague said two inmates visit his office every Friday to complete tasks ranging from lawn care, custodial duties, maintenance and other odd jobs that don’t involve handling money or dealing with the public.

He said MDOC’s labor donation aligns with the Red Cross’ nonprofit mission, in that using free inmate labor helps cut down on administrative costs and assures that more monetary donations make it to those in need.

“Having something like a commercial cleaning company is not something we want to do,” Montague said.

Forrest County Board of Supervisors President David Hogan added inmate labor is valued by the county.

“We have, probably, an average of five state inmates at each satellite barn in Forrest County,” Hogan said.

He said inmates are used mostly for litter control and mowing of county rights of way. He added they are sometimes assisted by inmates in the county work program.

“It’s a savings to the county residents because it’s basically free labor,” he said.

He also noted that much of the work inmates complete is seasonal – like mowing.

“It would be difficult to have county employees for that purpose,” he said, adding that retaining minimum wage employees for a few months can be an administrative headache.

“But it’s a double-edged sword,” said Hogan who added problems can arise with inmate labor.

He said inmate laborers require supervision by county employees, and sometimes are engaging in disallowed activity, like making telephone calls.

“When you get a bunch of state inmates at your county barn, it comes with some responsibility,” he said.

He said he and the foreman at his county barn have lately made attempts to reduce the total amount of inmate labor when possible.

“I’m not a big fan of inmate labor taking jobs away from local people who need a job to support their families,” he said.

USA TODAY contributed to this report.

Tammy Mississippi, Work Release

Sure, they may save your house from burning. But will they jack your flat-screen on the way out?

In what would be a money-saving move, officials in Camden County, Ga., are considering placing inmates in fire stations alongside professional firefighters, where they would respond to house fires and other day-today emergencies, the Florida Times-Union reports. Report by Los Angeles Times.

Inmate firefighters are used in some states, such as California, the paper points out, but they are usually confined to battling wildfires, and are supervised by a guard. Camden County commissioners are thinking about having them monitored by working firefighters, who would go through a training program to supervise the inmates effectively.

Times-Union reporter Tiffany Pakkala notes that the program would be open only to low-level offenders, such as thieves and drug dealers, who have demonstrated good behavior behind bars.

Still, some firefighters are less than thrilled about the idea. One recently asked the county commissioners if they’d be comfortable having the inmates respond to a night call at their houses.

Nearby Sumter County already has inmates working alongside firefighters, though it’s unclear from the report whether they respond to house fires. Officials there love the idea: Because an inmate doesn’t get time off, one incarcerated worker can replace three wage-earning firefighters.

Camden County is considering the idea because of a change in the insurance rating system that would cause homeowners’ premiums to skyrocket unless new substations are built or more firefighters are added.

Tammy Georgia, Work Release

The Lincoln County WI Sheriff’s Department on Saturday held an open house at the recently completed Lincoln County Safety Building. Report from the Wausau Daily Herald.

The $8.6 million, 30,000-square-foot addition has room for 132 inmates in the main “pod” cell blocks.  Remodeling of the Huber Center for work release inmates is scheduled to be completed this summer, giving the jail a total capacity of 182 inmates.   Lt. Nate Walrath, jail administrator, said the average daily population is about 80 inmates, and the previous facility has a capacity of 53 inmates. The new facility will reduce costs of housing and transporting inmates to other counties, Walrath said …

Video conferencing used to communicate with visitors and other improvements in technology will reduce the frequency of inmates moving about in the jail, making it a safer environment for corrections officers, said Sgt. Dave Manninen.   The jail pod is set up in a circle surrounding a control station from which an officer can electronically monitor all functions of the cell blocks, which range from minimum- to maximum-security.   The lowest-risk inmates are housed in a dormitory with several bunk beds and board games set up on stainless steel benches. The highest-risk inmates will be held in solitary confinement in much smaller rooms.

vericatrajkova Prison and Jail Construction, WI Lincoln County, Wisconsin, Work Release

Last Wednesday’s announcement of the lowest Schuylkill County PA prison population in four years is “a blip” and will not change plans to build a $3 million to $5 million prerelease center in Ryan Township, county President Judge William Baldwin said.  Report from the Republican & Herald.

“I can’t imagine it will stay down on a long-term basis,” Baldwin said … “You can’t look at a temporary blip to make long-term plans.” The prerelease center, planned for a 4.6-acre site beside State Correctional Institution/Frackville, would hold nonviolent inmates and allow them to participate in work release programs. Motivation for the center has been the overcrowded county prison, which is designed for no more than 240 inmates.    While hitting highs of 360 inmates last year, the population has now fallen to 248, according to Warden Eugene Berdanier …

While the low inmate count is a welcome break, changing plans based on a few days or weeks of data is unwise, said county commissioners Chairwoman Mantura M. Gallagher.  “Look at where it (the population) was last year. We have no idea where it might be a year from now,” Gallagher said in a telephone interview Thursday morning.   Baldwin said Thursday he expected to see the prison population grow.  “Usually when the economy’s bad, crime increases,” he said.

As for the center, Gallagher said the project is “all about the money right now.” Price estimates depend on who’s giving them.    Gallagher and fellow Democrat Commissioner Francis V. McAndrew campaigned in 2007 on the idea of a prerelease center, but estimated a $3 million price tag. More recent estimates from Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, a Mechanicsburg prison consulting firm, put the price closer to $5 million.   Baldwin said more than $1 million in prisoner fines and fees has been set aside for the project. County officials are hopeful the rest will come from a low-interest U.S. Department of Agriculture loan.

Baldwin said he thinks additional money could come from another source.  “We’re essentially shovel-ready,” Baldwin said, adding the center could qualify for a piece of the $787 billion stimulus package, passed earlier this year.

vericatrajkova Economic Issues, Overcrowding, PA Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Prison and Jail Construction, Work Release

Weld County CO is moving ahead with plans to build its own work-release facility after problems surfaced last year at The Villa, which used to house a similar center, according to the Greeley Tribune.

The Greeley City Council approved a Planned Unit Development for the new work-release site … on Tuesday night. Weld County will own it, but contractor Intervention Community Correction Services will run the work-release site.

The Villa, operated by the Oklahoma-based company Avalon, came under fire after reports surfaced detailing sexual liaisons between staff and inmates and a tunnel that held weapons and drug paraphernalia. Work-release offenders were then moved to the Weld County Jail, where they will remain until the new facility is complete …

Construction on the new site — which will house 228 people in more than 35,000 square feet in its first phase of building — will begin in a few months, Weld officials say.   There also will be second and third phases of construction. The second will add 72 beds and more than 16,000 square feet. A third construction phase will come later, officials said … The facility will run 24 hours a day. Guards will be unarmed and there will be no lockdown ability. At the facility, the program participants will be able to leave for work while others will come to the facility to meet caseworkers and to routinely take drug tests.

Monica Mika, director of Weld County’s Administrative Services, said the facility offers a better alternative to simply jailing everyone.  “We know as a nation that we can not continue to just build jails,” Mika said.

vericatrajkova CO Weld County, Prison and Jail Construction, Work Release

The Alabama Department of Corrections expects work-release inmate hires will increase now that a policy requiring their employers to have a business license has been withdrawn.  Report from the Montgomery Advertizer.

The policy was imposed during the three-year term of Corrections Commissioner Donal Campbell, who left the job in 2006. It virtually ended the day labor option for the only inmates eligible for it — those at the state’s 11 work release centers … At the work-release center in Decatur, about 20 individuals have hired inmates for day labor since the policy was changed. Inmates who do not have full-time jobs can be tapped for the work, said Decatur warden Bettinna Carter.  The employer must have proof of homeowner’s insurance, a driver’s license, and provide transportation for the inmate to and from the job.  With an hourly rate of $7 for general work and $10 for skilled work, day labor is a bargain, Carter said.

vericatrajkova Alabama, Work Release

The expansion of Gloucester County VA Jail, a project deemed necessary 17 months ago, is not dead.  It is, however, on life support, as reported by the Daily Press.

County supervisors agreed this week to include the project, among three dozen others, on a wish list to receive funding from the $787 billion federal stimulus package.   Translation: The county will expand the jail only if someone else picks up the tab. Sensing the unlikelihood of that, Supervisor Louise Theberge said on Friday: “There’s no jail being built” …

Her comment is a stark contrast from May 2006, when supervisors agreed to spend $10.8 million to build an addition that would increase inmate capacity from 42 to 108. At the time, the jail was so crowded that inmates had to sleep in the recreation yard during the summer.

Sheriff Steve Gentry… quelled the issue by using a combination of alternative incarceration programs to keep the inmate population stable.  In 2008, his first year in office, the jail averaged 84 inmates. The 2007 average was 83 inmates. The figures belie a 2004 study in which consultants predicted the jail would average 136 inmates.  Gentry bucked the prediction, in part, by expanding the jail’s work-release and electronic-monitoring programs.

vericatrajkova Electronic Monitoring, Prison and Jail Construction, VA Gloucester County, Work Release

While jail and prison populations balloon statewide and across the nation, county jail facilities in Santa Cruz CA have reduced overcrowding in the past few years, according to the county’s annual grand jury report, and as reported in the San Jose Mercury News.

The report, which takes a look at jail facilities each year, applauded efforts by the Sheriff’s Office and its partners in the criminal justice system for making adjustments in how inmates are screened, housed and supervised to reduce overcrowding at county incarceration centers. The average monthly population at County Jail on Water Street in Santa Cruz fell 15 percent between 2004 and 2007, according to the report. Current statistics indicate that number continues to decline …  The report lists figures from the first six months of 2007, when the average monthly population there was 358 inmates, a significant decline from 2004 when the average population was 408 and a far cry from the 450-plus inmates that were housed in the facility a decade ago. According to County Jail statistics Tuesday, the population was 299 inmates, below the state-rated capacity of 311.

To keep a handle on jail population, the Sheriff’s Office established a Jail Overcrowding Committee that meets quarterly to discuss concerns. The committee — comprised of representatives from law enforcement, the judiciary, the District Attorney’s Office, the Probation Department, the Public Defenders Office, the county Board of Supervisors and other agencies — developed a set of strategies to reduce overcrowding.  Among those was implementation of a new classification system that screens inmates to determine whom might be better-suited for a work release or GPS monitoring program.

vericatrajkova Assessments and Classification, CA Santa Cruz County, Overcrowding, Work Release

Pierce County is likely to remain a point of return for state prison inmates for years to come because Washington State prison officials are making such slow progress on starting work-release programs in other communities.

The Legislature last year authorized the state Department of Corrections to start expanding its work-release program by finding sites for 120 additional inmates by mid-2009. That’s the first step of an agency plan to nearly double the number of inmates in work release from 670 today to 1,320 by 2016. About 20 percent of inmates spend the final three months of their prison sentences in work release, where they’re required to find jobs and pay rent to the state as they make their transition to full release into the community. But prison officials have not built or leased any new work-release centers and are not likely to do so over the next seven months, said DOC regional administrator Anne Fiala.  Moreover, the state now faces a $5 billion budget deficit, which means the work-release expansion plan may come to a halt. Lawmakers will be looking to cut spending, not add to it, as they write a budget for the 2009-11 budget cycle.

Meanwhile, Pierce County, which is home to three work-release centers that house as many as 125 inmates, will continue to “host” inmates who committed crimes in other counties but are sent there to get jobs and transition into the community … State officials continue to avoid trying to put a work-release center in Snohomish County, despite the fact that an advisory committee said in January that Snohomish was the county most in need of such a facility. There are no work-release centers in Snohomish County and have not been since 1982, when an inmate escaped from an Everett work-release center and killed two women and a girl. Local officials have fended off previous state efforts to site a facility in Everett or nearby communities.

The Legislature instructed the Department of Corrections to spread out work-release facilities so no single county would bear more than its fair share. [Thurston County Prosecutor Ed] Horne said the longer it takes for Snohomish County to get a work-release center, the longer Pierce County will get more than its share.   “I’m disappointed because it’s so unfair for us,” Horne said.

There is plenty more on this story at the Tacoma News Tribune.

vericatrajkova County-State Issues, WA Chelan County, WA Pierce County, WA Snohomish County, Washington, Work Release