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OPINIONS
Stephen Zoeller: Cabell working hard to lower its jail bill
A recent editorial in The Herald-Dispatch stated that since Cabell County had paid its jail bill to the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority (RJA), the county now had sufficient money "to use the system." In fact, there are bigger issues than just paying the jail bill.
First of all, the county pays its bill because it is the law and it has an obligation to do so. What this means is that the county has less money for other projects, such as providing water and sewer to underserved areas.
(Cabell County does not owe the RJA $200,000 as the editorial stated. Currently, we have $31,000 of contested bills, which RJA has agreed to discuss. Otherwise, we are current on our payments. Our bills average $230,000 per month.)
The fundamental issue is that the counties continue to pay the jail costs for arrests made by Huntington, Barboursville, Milton, Marshall University and the West Virginia State Police, yet the counties have no control over how many people go into the jail or over the cost of keeping them there.
However, through its actions, the Cabell County Commission has attempted to challenge the state to justify the charges it makes to counties and to bring attention to the issues surrounding the high cost of incarceration.
On both counts, Cabell County has been successful. The RJA must now identify actual costs and charge counties accordingly. This has caused a decrease in the per diem rate. That decrease will save Cabell County $60,000 annually.
Unfortunately, the Regional Jail Authority is keeping a $19 million reserve, which is money that has come mostly from the counties. There is no economic or rational reason for the RJA to keep such a reserve, and it clearly indicates that the per diem rate charged should be lowered further.
In the longer term, the state Legislature and our local court system have been exploring alternatives to incarceration that offer criminals an opportunity to choose a new path by performing community service and by taking responsibility for their lives. These programs include drug court and a day report center.
Counties continue to fight for a fair and reasonable charge for housing prisoners in the regional jails. Counties also continue to support constructive alternatives to incarceration. Lower jail costs benefit taxpayers, and, hopefully, alternative programs will help lower recidivism rates and improve some lives.
Stephen Zoeller is county administrator for the Cabell County Commission.
