The Carroll County Jail
located in Huntingdon, Tennessee.
HUNTINGDON (May 3, 2008) – Carroll County
Jail is now decertified following action of
the Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI) on
March 24. In a letter written by Jerry
Abston, executive director of TCI, to
Sheriff Bendell Bartholomew, indicates the
county commission needs to take corrective
action.
Mayor Kenny McBride said a new 150-bed jail
will cost the county $8- to $10-million to
replace the existing 32-year-old, 112-bed
Carroll County Jail. Addressing the Carroll
County Budget Committee last Thursday,
McBride said the good news is the county’s
liability insurance remains intact for the
jail, regardless of the decertified status.
Prisoners can continue to be housed at a
decertified jail, however, the state can cut
in half its maximum $35 daily cost
reimbursement for housing state prisoners.
At the time of the inspection, six state
prisoners were housed at Carroll County
Jail. Halving the state reimbursement would
have affected the county by $105 daily on
that particular day.
Mc Bride said paying for a new jail is a
problem. A $10 million facility, payable
over 30 years, would cost the taxpayers
$500,000 to $600,000 annually. The only two
revenue sources are a wheel tax or property
tax. He noted the debt on the County Office
Complex will retire in 2009, freeing up
approximately $150,000 in debt service
annually.
The findings leading to the decertification
are: (1) physical plant deficiencies are due
to an aging facility and lack of staff. (2)
Female inmates were relocated from the
female cell area to an area designated to
house male inmates. This move was due to the
overcrowding female cell area. This allows
for (prohibited) communication between male
and female inmates. (3) The facility does
not have a secure booking area to process
prisoners or inmates. (4) The facility’s
outside recreation area allows for sight and
sound contact between male and female
inmates. (5) There is no outdoor recreation
provided due to lack of staff and
sight/sound issues for male/female inmates.
There is no room provided for programs or
activities outside the cell areas. The
facility is not overcrowded, indicated the
report. During the March 20 inspection, the
jail had 64 inmates and has an average daily
population of 75. At the time of the
inspection, six were state prisoners, 31
were local prisoners, 27 prisoners were on
pre-trial status. The population consisted
of 52 males and 12 females.
The TCI report indicates the county
commission has not moved forward with a plan
of action. The plan of corrective action has
been “on and off” several times since 2003
when the county commission budgeted to build
a 32-bed female wing to begin construction
in January 2004. “The commission has not
moved forward on this or any other plan
since,” indicated the report.
Last October, the Law Enforcement Committee
discussed a 4,153 square-foot dormitory,
costing $700,000 to $800,000, for the
ever-growing female population. The facility
was proposed to be added to the current
jail.
“The inspector indicated a proposed low
security, dormitory-style facility would
only be a “Band-Aid for a short while,” said
Sheriff Bartholomew during the October
meeting.
County officials throughout the state
complain the state government lacks adequate
prison beds, forcing all the convicted
criminals to remain in local jails and
created overcrowded conditions. Then the
state forces the local governments to
construct jails to eliminate the overcrowded
conditions. While Carroll County Jail has
plenty of prison beds, it lacks adequate
space for the female prisoners.
County Technical Advisory Service (CTAS)
conducted a study of the jail independent of
TCI’s. CTAS concluded the existing jail
could not be reconfigured to accommodate the
standards of TCI.
In an October meeting of the county Law
Enforcement Committee, Bartholomew said the
state of Tennessee is making every county
build a “fine new jail to house their
prisoners.” The problem, in part, is the
local jail is housing state prisoners,
convicted locally, who would be transferred
to state prisons if the state had adequate
space. Instead of the state spending the
money on a new prison, it is forcing the
counties to continue to house the prisoners
and forcing those counties to build new
facilities and the local taxpayers to pay
for it.
Neighboring Henderson and Benton counties
must construct new jails. Henry County is
adding a dormitory to its new jail. McBride
said Haywood, Hardeman, Hardin, Chester
(80-bed), Fayette, Decatur, Benton and
Henderson counties are currently building
new jails or must build a new jail. Haywood
is building a 175-bed, $15 million jail and
justice complex. Haywood raised property tax
40 cents per $100 assessed value plus a $40
wheel tax to fund the project. Hardin is
building an 184-bed, $9.2 million facility.
Hardin raised the wheel tax $36.00 annually. |
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