i County, state at odds on jails
County, state at odds on jails
BY MEGHAN V. MALLOY
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 02/19/2009

BY MEGHAN V. MALLOY

Staff Writer

Maine's jails could close or become overcrowded given potential changes to the state budget, county corrections officials said.

The changes hinge on a decision by the state that could provide additional funding outside of the state property-tax cap for county jail operations starting July 1.

On that date, state funding to Maine's 15 county jails will cease unless an agreement is reached between the Legislature and the State Board of Corrections, the nine-person group that oversees county jails in Maine.

"Without funding, the system falls apart, and it falls apart fast," said Kennebec County Administrator Robert Devlin, who also serves as co-chairman of the Board of Corrections Budget Committee.

The Legislature approved a consolidated jail and prison system in April 2008. The legislation's purpose was to save money and streamline a corrections system that includes county jails and state prisons.

If county jails need additional funding for their operations outside their revenue and budgets, the State Board of Corrections must request it on the counties' behalf. The board also reviews corrections budgets and makes the decision if a jail remains full-service or not.

A $1.5 million measure was passed by the Legislature to fund jails through June. In the state's biennial budget, however, funding for jails has been axed for the second half of 2009, Devlin said.

"Some jails see the writing on the wall right now," Devlin said. "They know what's inevitable and are asking (the State Board of Corrections), 'How can we change our mission and what we do with our facility?'"

Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty said Tuesday he did not know what, if any, effect his own jail would see, but thinks it is possible Kennebec County jail will have to change missions.

"It's possible we could go to a pretrial, 90-day holding facility," Liberty said. "I don't know at this point. But, I mean, we have to be open to thinking that."

Maine's smaller jails would see the most change should counties be forced to work within the $62 million tax cap. One those facilities is Waldo County Jail in Belfast, which holds 40 to 50 inmates a day, Waldo County Sheriff Scott Story said.

"For us, it makes sense to look at a different mission for this facility," Story said. "It's way too soon to say (what the mission will be), but yes, we have to look at the possibility that we are probably no longer going to be a full-service jail."

Story said he knew last April that "this system would eventually need funding and we'd have to come to back to the table. I didn't think that was a secret."

"It's doubtful we could house state inmates anymore and we would probably be forced to consider closing some parts of the jail," Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett said of Two Bridges Regional Jail, which is shared by Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties. "We don't have the beds to house the people we have, and if there's no funding in July, I don't see how this system can operate."

George Jabar II, a member of the State Board of Corrections and a Kennebec County commissioner, said now that funding for the first six months of 2009 has been secured, the Board of Corrections is moving carefully but quickly to reach a funding solution for the second half of the year.

"We're working hard to do that, but I don't believe we can make the changes necessary that would allow us to have an increase from the tax caps," Jabar said. "This (consolidated system) will survive, but we need money for it. Even if we immediately close some jails or make other changes, we can't come up with the money fast enough to survive (the last half of 2009)."

"We have to keep the county system alive to keep the state system alive. It's as simple as that," Jabar said.

Meghan V. Malloy -- 623-3811, ext. 431

mmalloy@centralmaine.com

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