An agreement on a jail rate for the El Dorado Police Department was made yesterday during a Union County Quorum Court regular meeting.
“We set it at $175,000 thinking that was fair for us and fair for the city and what I like about a set number is that the city knows what they’ve got to budget each year, we know what we’re going to get each year,” said Union County Sheriff Ricky Roberts.
El Dorado will pay the Sheriff’s Office $600,000 up front, this year, to help offset the costs of recent upgrades at the Union County Jail. Additionally, the city will pay a yearly rate of $175,000 for inmates housed at the jail, or $14,583.34 per month. The city will also reduce the jail’s water and sewer rate by 10 percent and eliminate a daily lift station fee of $25.
The deal came after several weeks of confusion and disagreement. At the March Quorum Court meeting, Justices of the Peace rejected that same offer after the El Dorado City Council voted on the matter before it appeared before the full Quorum Court. The Quorum Court agreed then to charge the city $40 per inmate per day.
“We went back and forth with the city on this,” Roberts said. “The city has come back to us and asked us to revisit the issue if we could. To be honest with you, I understand the position the city is in. I understand the position the county is in. I’ve been on both sides of that table.”
The city secured the $600,000 from their reserve fund on March 21 despite the rejection. Prior to that, City Council finance committee members requested the funds from the El Dorado Works Board, but the issue was tabled when a quorum couldn’t be reached.
Before the Quorum Court vote, Roberts said his office is currently considering several ways to cut costs where possible.
“We’ve got some other things working in the background that’s going to help us offset some of that cost,” Roberts said. “We’re thinking outside the box a little bit out there at the jail.”
One example is adding additional meal options at a cost to the inmates; aside from the evening meal, which each inmate will receive regardless of other circumstances, on some nights the UCSO may offer an additional hot option, like hot dogs or hamburgers, that the inmates can purchase. Roberts said he is still considering the logistics of starting such a program.
Roberts said it will be important for both the UCSO and EPD to consider carefully who gets sent to jail. For non-violent minor crimes, suspects who have no or limited criminal records may need to be cited out for court rather than arrested on the spot, he said.
“If we agree that they’re going to pay us this amount of money, then we can be a little bit more selective on ‘okay, why is this person coming to jail and what are we doing,’” Roberts said. “I noticed the print out from yesterday, there’s a lot of people coming to jail for one day … so we need to identify why these people are coming to jail if they’re only going to stay for one day. What’s the issue here?”
Lt. Chris Lutman, public information officer for the EPD, agreed, saying the effort to lower the jail population will be an ongoing one. Some of the minor crimes that suspects may be cited out for are minor possession of marijuana, shoplifting, failure to pay fines and other small offenses, Lutman said.
“We’re glad there’s a resolution on this,” Lutman said. “The only thing it changes for us is that some of the minor crimes we would usually lock people up for, we would issue citations to appear in court. We’ve had to tweak a few things, but that part is not going to change; it’s kind of best practice to start getting in the habit of doing that.”
Roberts said the UCSO also has been working with SHARE Foundation partners to bring life skills classes and substance abuse recovery programs into the jail for the inmates to utilize.
The Hannah Pregnancy Resource Center has offered life skills classes to female inmates since 2018 and CrossLife’s SHIFT Ministry works with inmates dealing with substance abuse. Roberts said though those programs will not generate revenue for the UCSO, they will hopefully help to reduce recidivism rates.
“If you get charged with domestic battery, we need to sit down and talk to you about why you’re here, why you keep doing what you’re doing,” Roberts said. “We’re looking at this – not going to generate any revenue off of it, but its just something we’re hoping its going to cut down on the recidivism rate so we don’t have all this.”
Improvements to the plumbing systems at the jail have also begun to save money. Roberts said that with 60 percent of the plumbing work completed, the monthly water bill has decreased from between $4,000 and $5,000 per month to $2,300 this month.
“We’re already seeing rewards from it,” Roberts said. “That’s the lowest I’ve paid since I’ve been the sheriff out there.”
When the plumbing improvements are completed, the water bill should decrease even more, he said. Roberts also expects upgrades to the jail’s heating and air systems to save money.
District 7 JP Johnny Burson noted that according to a study from Sebastian County, it costs $54 per day for a jail to house an inmate.
“This was a really good deal for the city that would help them immensely,” Burson said. “When we know we’re getting a set amount, that’s an advantage, I guess, in one way, but if your set amount is not enough to pay the bills, it’s a disadvantage. There’s pros and cons to both sides.”
City Council Member Vance Williamson was also in attendance; he was part of the group of City Council members that made the original agreement with the Quorum Court jail subcommittee.
District 3 JP Greg Harrison asked if the deal could work well for the city and county since both will be able to budget for an exact amount to pay or expect each year; Burson said the deal will only work if the yearly rate covers the costs of EPD’s inmates.
“Not if you’re receiving less than your bills … If they owe $500,000 and we get $375,000, then that’s not a real good deal for the county,” Burson said.
District 5 JP Carolyn Jones moved to accept the agreement and have legal counsel draw up a formal interlocal agreement between Union County Judge Mike Loftin and the City of El Dorado for the new jail rate.
Burson and District 11 JP Ross Burton both voted no to accepting the agreement; the rest of the Quorum Court voted yes, except for District 8 JP Will Crowder who was absent. The motion carried, meaning the city will pay the county a yearly rate of $175,000 for three years and a one-time payment of $600,000. The city and county will have to come to a new agreement after the three years has run out.
“This is a way that everybody can win. The city can save, we can find ways to save and with this deal we can all work together,” District 5 JP Carolyn Jones said.
Caitlan Butler can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].