Grand Rapids MI commissioners approved a 25 percent reduction in Kent County Jail “per diem” fees, saving the city an estimated $244,000 per year, according to the Grand Rapids Press.
The fees, which the city was charged for prisoners arrested and charged under city ordinances, will amount to $35.85 per day, down from $47.80 per day. Processing fees will be $15.06 per prisoner, down from $20.08. The new fees were negotiated by the cities of Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Wyoming, Grandville and Walker.
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A study slated for release Thursday will show Kent County MI has adequate jail facilities and not enough cash to join with Allegan and Kalamazoo counties in creating a regional jail.
The three counties a year ago commissioned the study to see whether they could save money by banding together in operating a single jail … Sheriff Larry Stelma told officials last month the study will show the county’s current 1,478-inmate capacity is enough to handle needs for now, despite concerns that necessary upgrades to older parts of the jail could mean 50 to 75 fewer beds. Officials are planning how best to spend the millage county voters approved in August for upgrading maximum-security cells in parts of the jail built in 1958 and 1974.
“We don’t have an immediate need, and we would need to figure out how to pay for it,” said Assistant County Administrator Wayman Britt, who worked on the study.
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Some while ago we reported on the jail fee issues between Kent County MI and its cities. A deal was struck but now new questions are being asked.
Kent County officials are rethinking part of a deal announced in October, which would reduce by 25 percent what cities pay for jailing violators of their city ordinances. The deal, in part, encouraged cities to charge criminals under state laws — a move the county now says is being used against them by city officials long opposed to the deal. “We were aware of the issue but not to the extent that the cities are talking about charging (crimes) under state statute,” said County Administrator Daryl Delabbio. “Like all negotiations, the devil is in the details, and they were agreeing to principles.”
County Board Chairman Roger Morgan, who helped negotiate the agreement, said it was unclear during the more than year-long negotiations just how many crimes cities might charge under state law to avoid the cost of housing inmates. Cities only pay the county for jailed inmates charged under local ordinances, many of which mirror the state laws but were enacted so cities could collect the associated fines …
Read more…
vericatrajkova County-City Issues, MI Kent County
Local leaders have ended a bitter dispute over the fees cities pay to house inmates in the Kent County Jail in Michigan.
Kent County Board Chair Roger Morgan [has] announced an agreement with the cities of Grand Rapids, Walker, Wyoming, East Grand Rapids and Kentwood. The dispute heated up this summer when the mayors of the five cities refused to endorse a jail millage even after voters approved it. “The question has always been that every taxpayer in the county, including in the cities, pay the same amount to support that jail,” said Richard Root, mayor of the city of Kentwood. “The question still remains is that geographically the cities have been separated into a special class of paying residents, so when my tax payers pay their city taxes and their county taxes, and in turn the city has to take even 75 percent of the current charge, I still feel they are paying twice.”
Under the truce, both sides have agreed to:
- A 25% reduction in the current per diem and processing fees effective January 1, 2009.
- A provision that will result in an increase in the per diem rate if there is an increase in the number of beds used (based on a 5 year average) by a community.
- The cities agree to encourage the use of appearance tickets, alternative sentencing programs, and the use of state statue when practical rather that the use of local ordinance.
More on this at WZZM13.
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- Lisa Holley, Chair of the Rhode Island Parole Board, has been awarded the Ben Baer Award by the Association of Paroling Authorities International (APAI) [RIDOC press release]
- Two legislators have called for an audit of the Alaska DOC, citing “unhealthy and unsafe” conditions for inmates and officers.
- Kent County MI considers renewing jail improvement tax for another three years.
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