When discussing closing the downtown jail to build a new one, Hamilton County Commissioner Tim Boyd said at Wednesday’s meeting, “Building a correctional facility is a very, very tough project.”
The consulting firm PFM Group previously advised closing the downtown Hamilton County Jail, building a smaller jail downtown, and expanding the workhouse at Silverdale.
According to County Mayor Jim Coppinger, the sheriff’s department found this project favorable. Mayor Coppinger proposed the next step is to enter into a contract with PFM for it to look into the cost and savings. It is a seven-month contract at $30,000 per month for a total of $210,000.
The resolution to sign with PFM calls for $460,000. Mayor Coppinger said this cost would be worked out in the event of the construction of the new jail. PFM typically requests one percent of the cost for the capital project. However, it was negotiated that the consulting firm would be paid a minimum of $150,000 and a maximum of $250,000. The $250,000 in addition to the $210,000 from the contract equals $460,000, which is the high-end cost for the consultants.
Commissioner Boyd asked the chairman to consider assigning a review of the resolution to the finance committee, and for the committee to report back on it at the end of January. He said he had many questions he did not think could be answered by Jan. 6, when voting for this resolution is scheduled to take place.
The potential for this resolution would cost taxpayers over $600,000, he said. As a result, his primary questions revolved around the need for the new jail, how it would be financed, where it would be located, and who should enter into the contract to build and run it.
Commissioner Boyd voiced his disapproval of PFM because he found it is an organization that promotes P3s (public-private partnership). He thinks PFM will be biased when comparing P3s versus a sheriff-operated jail when talking about expansion.
PFM has no correctional facility experience, Commissioner Boyd stated. Having 25 years of experience in construction and project management, he said PFM would not be the first group he went to, but rather DLR Consulting, a firm that has a division dedicated to correctional facilities and would reportedly cost taxpayers nothing.
“This commission has been accused more than once of being fiscally irresponsible, and as Finance Chair I aim to prove that wrong,” Commissioner Boyd said. He requested a thorough review of the resolution, as well as postponing voting on it next week.
Mayor Coppinger stated the intent of this project since it started in August has been to save taxpayers millions of dollars. He said PFM is one of the largest financial advisors in the country. The county mayor’s administration reached out to PFM in the beginning of the project saying it wanted to do it in a way that benefited taxpayers.
“The point is we’re in this to save money,” Mayor Coppinger said.
He went on to discuss how public-private partnerships made the city and county the great place it is today.
All of the questions Commissioner Boyd has regarding the project have reportedly been answered. “It’s time to move forward,” said Mayor Coppinger.
Commissioner Greg Beck said he has worked in the jail and he knows about the conditions. The treatment of lawbreakers is not biblical, he said. “Even the smell is stifling.”
He said the downtown facility is about to fall down, that even the elevator does not work a lot of times. “I used to brag about not having high blood pressure. And I didn’t have it until I got over there in that jail.”
Speaking on behalf of the public, Jarrod Story said building a new jail in Hamilton County was not only a financial issue but also a moral one. There is a broad consensus across this country that we are criminalizing and locking up too many people, Mr. Story said. He requested there be community input and a broad discussion before the commission allowed any more money to be spent on consulting.
Mayor Coppinger made the point that the commission does not incarcerate anyone. The commission’s responsibility lies in housing inmates, not arresting or sentencing them. The downtown jail was built in 1976, and the commission has the responsibility of building the new jail to code, he said.