Sheriff Jim Hammond at the Hamilton Place Rotary at Graceworks Church on Lee Highway
Sheriff Jim Hammond said Hamilton County's workhouse program, which has been in effect since around the 1940s, is going away.
The sheriff told members of the Hamilton Place Rotary Club on Wednesday that few inmates at the workhouse were doing any work.
He said, "I called out there and asked how many were out working at the time. They said 17."
Sheriff Hammond said laws have increasingly put curbs on the ability to use prisoners for work details.
He said the county jail operation will be gradually shifted entirely to the Silverdale property. The sheriff is getting $30 million from the tax increase that will go for improvements at Silverdale and additional space for about 125-130 prisoners.
The County Commission on Wednesday approved a shift in supervision of the Silverdale operation from the county mayor to the sheriff. Sheriff Hammond said only one other county mayor in the state was over a workhouse.
He said it will make it a more efficient process to have the same individual over all the jail operation.
At the same time, he said steps will be taken to try to divert as many people as possible from the jail.
He said during a visit to Charlotte, N.C., he found that it is a city about three times the size of Chattanooga, but has far fewer prisoners in its sleek jail.
One diversion program used by Charlotte is a "Motel 6" facility that houses those with mental and homeless issues. Supervisors check periodically on their well-being. He said their Social Security or disability checks cover much of the cost.
Sheriff Hammond said he would also like to see more use of the ankle bracelet program in which some defendants live and home and are under constant monitoring.
He said the current jail on Walnut Street is about 45 years old, but is already "rotten to the core." He said on Tuesday none of the elevators were working. He said the heavy locks are corroding and are expensive to replace.
He said the plan is to begin moving prisoners out a floor at the time from the downtown jail to the Silverdale site.
Sheriff Hammond said he hopes to be able to shut down the downtown jail within 3-5 years. It could not be rehabbed and will have to be torn down, he said.
He said he expects the county highway department will exit Silverdale within a year, freeing up more space for prisoner use.