Out-of-county inmate housing costs are increasing 8,300 percent in Des Moines County

Des Moines County budgeted $2,500 to house extra prisoners in fiscal 2018, but in fiscal 2019 it's hiking the budget 8,300 percent to a whopping $210,000.

This week and last week, various county departments are presenting early budget drafts to the Des Moines County Board of Supervisors. The two likely to draw the most scrutiny were shown Monday: the county jail and the county sheriff.

Jail Administrator Doug Ervine's budget revolves around an "anomaly" year in the jail's population. In 2017, the jail remained overcrowded for the entire duration, meaning the county constantly paid to house inmates in other counties at a rate of $50 a day. With decreases in the last month or so, county officials hope the population won't be as dramatically high this coming cycle.

Fiscal 2018 inmate housing costs are blowing away the county's budget of $2,500 with a projected cost of $191,000, which is where Ervine gets the $210,000 figure for the budget currently being discussed.

"That's the largest increase by far I've ever seen on one of these budgets," said Supervisor Tom Broeker.

His budget also shows various other costs rising due to the packed jail. Most notable is the cost of soap and laundry supplies, which rose from $9,835 in fiscal 2017 to a projected $13,000 in fiscal 2018. Ervine is keeping the $13,000 figure moving forward.

The three correctional officers the supervisors agreed to add a few weeks ago also are inflating the budget. That line item increased about 20 percent from $638,096 to $764,728.

Those extra inmates are bringing in a few new revenues. Commissary revenues are budgeted to increase $2,000, and telephone revenues are rising $5,000.

But the much larger effect is negative. Revenues from housing parole prisoners are down 80 percent. Des Moines County makes money from the state to house those people, but currently is sending them all to other counties because other counties won't charge for housing them. Those revenues are down to $10,000 in fiscal 2019, while fiscal 2018's budget had them at $50,000.

In the proposed budget, jail revenues are down 37.2 percent in this budget to $101,100. Total jail expenditures are up 26.7 percent to $2,982,672.

A work session to discuss jail expansion options is planned in two weeks.

Sheriff budget

The sheriff's budget discussion is largely centered around a cluster of capital improvements. The plan is to use the county's line of credit to bond for the purchases.

Chief Deputy Jeff White explained the $214,000 line item to the supervisors. They use vehicles for about five years each, and are due to buy three new patrol vehicles at about $20,000 each.

They're also fed up with the lacking support for their deteriorating in-car computer systems and want to switch to a different system and provider. That, too, is a matter planned for further discussion in a work session before the budget is more finalized. Based off quotes they've received, that new system could cost as much as $130,000 for all the new hardware, $44,000 for five years of maintenance and $11,000 for installation.

In the proposed sheriff's budget, expenses are up 10.6 percent to $3,065,731 and revenues remain stagnant at $529,621.

Other budgets

County Recorder Lisa Schreiner's budget presentation brought a mild argument over the flat 2.25 percent raise supervisors instructed department heads not to exceed.

Schreiner argued that some part-time employees deserved more of a raise, because setting their maximum at the same rate as full time employees with benefits will hurt turnover rates.

Supervisors seemed to mostly disagree, but how the board will eventually decide is yet to be seen.

County Attorney Amy Beavers laid the groundwork for adding a position, but isn't requesting one this year. She cited an increase in caseload of about 1,000 cases between 2016 and 2017.

Beavers' budget sees a 21.6 percent decrease in revenues and a 4.45 percent increase in expenditures.

The auditor's office budget mostly fluctuates with election cycles. Various city and school elections beefed up fiscal 2018's revenues. The department plans an upgrade in election equipment, but is projecting a 2.24 percent decrease in expenses.