Inmates released from county jail amid levy pleas

Thursday, July 22, 2010

By MISSY HARRIS
Inquirer Reporter
mharris@galioninquirer.com

In May, Crawford County voters narrowly rejected a 2.75-mil criminal justice services levy. On Aug. 3, the same levy will be the subject of a special county-wide election.

Meanwhile, to cut expenses, the county jail — which is administrated by the sheriff’s office — has released approximately half its inmates. The Crawford County Justice Center has released inmates on two separate occasions; last week, the jail released around 20 offenders and another 26 inmates were released this week.

The reduction in the jail population is part of the continued effort on the part of the office of Sheriff Ron Shawber to save money after budget cuts of around $700,000 this year.

The county jail facility still houses 65 inmates. Shawber has stated that the jail’s population must be cut down to 50, so further releases are likely. Medical and food service contracts are affected by the diminished numbers; the contract companies will reduce their charges commensurate with the reduced inmate population.

Shawber has not offered an estimate of the savings that will be achieved through the reduction through releases.

The inmate releases were determined--on a case by case bassis--through the cooperative efforts of Shawber, County Prosecutor Stan Flegm, Assistant Prosecutor Cliff Murphy and Judges Sean Leuthold, Steven Eckstein and Russ Wiseman.

The released inmates had been confined on charges ranging from minor misdemeanor charges (the majority) to fifth-degree felony charges (a handful of cases) — which are the least serious degree of felony.

“People should know that it’s a good county jail facility… (The release of prisoners) was not done as a threat,” County Commissioner Mo Ressallat said.

The commissioners have contacted around 25 civic organizations across the county to ask for the groups’ endorsements of the criminal justice services levy. “We’ve gotten about a 100 percent positive response,” said County Commissioner Gary Miller. “I wish we had had time to contact more groups; I’m sure we would have gotten more endorsements.”

“This is a non-partisan issue,” Miller continued. “It affects people in the whole county, no matter where in the county they live.”

“We’re obligated to take care of the prisoners here, or else we have to pay (to house them elsewhere),” County Commissioner Doug Weisenauer emphasized. Even if the jail were to be closed, the county would still have expenses relating to the jail, the commissioners emphasized.

Despite the inmate releases and jail cutbacks, Shawber’s force of deputies will continue to make arrests. Staff layoffs are a possibility Shawber hopes to avoid in the future. The reduction in the number of inmates will affect the needed number of personnel.

The main reason the levy is needed, agree the county commissioners and Shawber, is that the half-percent sales tax passed in 1994 that was meant to support the jail has not generated the revenue that was anticipated. In general, sales tax and other financial support of county operations have been drastically reduced.

“The revenues being down is the whole issue here, and that’s a result of the national recession,” Miller explained. “The only thing we can do is try to control costs.”

The sheriff has been very pro-active in controlling costs,” stated Ressallat.

“The sheriff has run a tight ship for a long time,” concurred Weisenauer. “He’s cut expenses many times. Now he has to cut (jail) residents.”

If the levy does not pass in August, said Miller, the sheriff will “probably make more cuts. We have to live within the revenue we have.”

“We have no crystal ball,” Ressallat added.

According to a fact sheet presented by the County Citizens for Criminal Justice Levy (Clifford J. Murphy, treasurer) and signed by the county commissioners as well as County Treasurer Gary Cole, County Prosecutor Stan Flegm, County Auditor Robin Hildebrand, County Engineer Cecil Newcome, County Recorder Karen Scott, County Clerk of Courts Sue Seevers, County Coroner Dr. Michael Johnson and Shawber:

“Crawford County’s elected leaders have worked diligently to maintain the cost of providingn core government services. Since 2006, the actual cost of providing core government services has only increased by 2.9 percent.

Prior to asking taxpayers to approve additional revenue to support public safety and criminal justice service in our county, the following financial reductions and changes were made:

“General Fund budgets were reduced 17 percent lower than actual expenditures for 2009. Elected official salaries were frozen in 2008 indefinitely. County General and Jail Fund employee salaries were frozen in 2009. All non-mandated financial suppoprt was reduced or eliminated for agencies such as: OSU Extension, Soil and Water, Regional Planning and Economic Development, and the Fair Board. Employer contributions for health care were frozen at 2009 expenditure levels. Health insurance contributions by employees increased in 2010. Health insurance deductibles were imposed for 2010. All non-mandated travel was eliminated and all equipment, capital improvements and facility maintenance budgets were reduced and/or deferred.”

The fact sheet also presents challenges faced by the county, particularly those challenges that most affect the sheriff’s office:

“Sales tax revenue declines by 13 percent in 2009 — projected to decline an additional 12 percent in 2010. This 25 percent decline in sales tax revenue since 2008 affects both the General Operating Fund and the Jail Operating Fund, which is supported by sales tax revenue.

“Interest revenue is project to decline by 65.35 percent in 2010.

“Other revenue sources have declined by more than 37 percent.

“Revenue collections have not kept pace with inflation. (1.9 percent since 2006, as compared to 2.4 percent inflation)

“Changes in state mandated incarceration requirements have increased local costs.

“Crime rates and drug activities are increasing, putting additional financial pressure on the county’s criminal justice system.

“Since 1994, the inmate population has increased from a daily average rate of 27 to a daily average rate of 115 in 2009.

“Since voters approved a jail levy in 1994, all cities have closed their jail facilities, thus obligating the county to house municipal prisoners and assume all financial responsibilities for incarceration.

“Loss of approximately $200,000 in annual jail housing revenue from other counties due to jail being filled to capacity with local inmates.

“Drug related crimes have doubled and thefts and burglaries have increased by 48 percent since 2003.

“The drug of choice in Crawford County is now heroin with approximately one-third to one-half the average daily jail population being addicted to heroin.

“Over the last several years, Crawford County has consistently ranked in the top ten in the state of Ohio for the number of heroin related deaths.”