Thursday, December 5, 2024
Voting is currently underway at the polls, with one of the county’s biggest decisions hanging in the balance — the jail bond.
Back in August, the Hood County Commissioners Court voted to place the jail bond on the November ballot, which could facilitate the much-needed expansion and renovation of the county jail.
The bond, which will not exceed $50 million, will enable the county to address overcrowding by funding the construction of additional jail space of 209 beds and refurbishing the current facility, which currently holds 192 beds — creating a total of 401 beds in the jail.
The proposal developed by DRG Architects outlines plans for a new jail facility that will accommodate up to 150 inmates in general housing, provide flex cell housing for up to 28 inmates (either male or female), and include special housing for up to 31 inmates.
The 30,606-square-foot jail addition will also feature a new laundry facility, an exercise area for administrative segregation, a general population exercise area, and multipurpose rooms.
Phase one of a 6,200-square-foot expansion for the sheriff's office is also part of the master planning budget. The interior renovations will encompass a new kitchen, a larger sally port, an expanded intake area, and upgraded inmate housing.
During a regularly scheduled meeting of the Hood County Commissioners Court Tuesday, officials discussed how the bond, if passed, will impact overall jail operating costs.
According to estimates from Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds and County Auditor Stephanie Matlock, the current operating costs for the existing 192-bed facility would nearly double, leading to an increase in expenses across several categories like additional equipment, medical expenses, groceries, and additional staff and training.
“I figure we’re going to need 16 new jailers, plus two booking clerks, but the corporals and sergeants, everybody else will stay the same,” Deeds explained. “But we need one jailer per 48 inmates.”
Cost of additional equipment, like washers, dryers, security systems and computers, will also need to be factored in, with an estimated one-time cost of computers and infrastructures of $2,500,000 and an estimated cost for three washers/dryers estimated at $62,298.
“The estimated cost on the computer infrastructure, I don't know that it's going to cost that much, but ... until we get the plans really drawn up, I don't think anybody can really say exactly what that (cost will be),” Deeds explained.
Once all costs are factored in, Deeds estimated the jail expansion will end up costing the county $7,868,953.28, with an additional $1,850,621.28 factored in for extra bedding, groceries and other necessities, as the number of inmates in the jail will practically double.
Deeds noted that the daily average number of inmates fluctuates, with the recent average being around 59. He emphasized that once the expansion is complete, inmates will no longer be housed out-of-county, so costs should stabilize, and the facility should be able to generate revenue.
With a 401-bed jail and plans to make 110 beds available to other counties at a rate of $85 per day, Deeds estimated the county could start generating revenue of approximately $3,412,750 annually.
“I don't know the time frame for getting this done,” he said. “I asked what that would be like, and it sounds like it'd be a two-and-a-half-year project, so by the time we get there, I don't know the number of inmates we will have in our jail ... but we could bring in almost three-and-a-half million dollars.”
Deeds added that the project timeline includes six months for design and bidding, followed by 12 to 14 months for new construction and eight months for remodeling — totaling approximately 28 months to complete.
He also emphasized that federal inmates cannot be housed while the facility is in debt, as accommodating them involves additional complexities.
“You can charge a lot more for them, but I think there (would be) a whole lot more problems, things that you got to do for the feds to get that done, so I'll just be happy when we can get everybody in one roof, so I’m not even thinking about federal inmates,” Deeds said.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Kevin Andrews noted that this is a “multi-variable equation,” as the county is currently at the mercy of other counties to house its inmates.
"I've joked around with Erath County and Joe Brown over there, that maybe you build a bigger jail over there so we can send more to you, but it costs money to send these people off,” Andrews said. “Is there some chance that we could use those cells for federal inmates in the future and bring in a few more dollars that we're putting into it? I think that that is a possibility, but one of the things that's important here is the efficiencies of the way that they designed this thing.”
Andrews explained that the requirement of having one jailer for every 48 inmates poses a challenge of managing larger groups in confined spaces. He noted that smaller cells would allow for quicker interventions in case of conflicts, adding that labor would then actually go down per inmate.
"Right now, whenever you consider the cost of the mortgage and everything that it would take to build this building and pass the bond, it's a little bit cheaper to keep them out of county ... but I believe that we're at a tipping point right now,” Andrews said. “We've done our homework. We've got a good plan here. We're at a tipping point here where we can set our own path to be able to take care of this without the reliance or the sudden drop of counties saying, ‘Hey, you’ve got to come pick your inmates up.’ I think that this iteration is very reasonable and that it gets us to where we need to be.”
Precinct 3 Commissioner Jack Wilson noted the new design includes flexible cell areas that can accommodate either male or female inmates, which he said will be helpful, especially concerning the recent increase in female inmates.
“This gives us some flexibility and gives the sheriff department some flexibility in being able to maneuver certain cell blocks based on what the needs are,” he said.
Deeds reiterated that the state's growing inmate population presents an opportunity for Hood County to generate additional revenue in the future by housing inmates from other counties with its additional jail space. He clarified that the daily cost of operating the jail is calculated based on bed availability throughout the year. He states that currently, costs are around $8,588, but with the expansion and the addition of 60 new jailers, the cost per inmate is expected to decrease, due to additional bed space.
"We can charge pretty much whatever we want (to house other counties’ inmates),” Deeds said. “As we found out with other counties, they charge $75 to $85 a day. Even on the small counties like Bosque, they get away with that and the jail is only a 60-bed jail anyway, so we'd be able to make a lot of money off that, if we have the space to do that with.”
Wilson raised the concern that, given the 28-month construction timeline for the 209-bed facility and the subsequent need to relocate inmates from the current facility for renovations, the county is still approximately five years away from having any "true additional bed space."
Deeds clarified, however, that the 28-month expected completion date also includes the refurbishment, adding that in 28 to 30 months, “We’ll be done.”
He also explained that until the new facility is fully operational, the current budget allocates $1.6 million for operating costs, excluding transportation expenses. He noted that the total cost for transporting inmates and housing them out-of-county could reach between $2.25 million and $2.5 million per year, which will continue until the new facility is completed.
“I know that our auditor and the sheriff have worked very closely on getting these numbers together,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Nannette Samuelson said. “I know it was a short time to get together but thank you very much. I think this is important information.”
