Jefferson County has reached to house jail inmates for the cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur, which could lead to the development of a new facility to address crowding, mental health and substance abuse.
The Jefferson County Commissioner’s Court on Tuesday morning unanimously approved agenda items to authorize authorizes Judge Jeff Branick to execute an interlocal agreement between the county and cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur.
In September, Jefferson County ended its contract with the cities following a nearly decade-long disagreement on the cities’ share of daily prisoner costs atthe county jail.
Sheriff Zena Stephens confirmed to The Enterprise that agreements tentatively have been reached with both cities, which were expected to meet Tuesday as well. Jefferson County Auditor Patrick Swain added that the cities also will have to officially approve each contract, with will be effective Nov. 1.
“Jefferson County has approved it on our side,” Jefferson County Auditor Patrick Swain said.
Port Arthur Police Chief Tim Duriso said the city has not presented and officially reached an agreement yet, but it is “very close.” He also expressed support for the diversion center.
“I am all for that. I think that is a great idea,” he said. “A lot of the smaller crimes that we see, we notice that they are tied to mental health and substance abuse issues. When you look at some of the smaller crimes a long stents in jail is not really (beneficial) for them. I think that is going to help us with the problem.”
Beaumont Police Chief Jimmy Singletary said the city planned to comment on the proposal on Wednesday.
The former contract was drafted in 1986. Since then, Stephens said, there have been several changes, such as the medical treatment of prisoners and at what point which agency is responsible for those costs.
The city of Beaumont owes the county about $3.6 million, and Port Arthur owes just under $1 million for unpaid costs to house inmates, according to former Enterprise reporting.
Beaumont and Port Arthur’s prisoners make up about 80% of the county jail’s population, yet the cities were paying only 35% of their total billed amount, county officials told The Enterprise previously.
“We tried to work with mediation in 2019. We couldn’t reach a settlement with that mediation, which spurred the commissioners to cancel the current contracts and work on it,” Swain said.
The new contract has a few key differences, including resolving the dispute over how much money is owed tot he county under the old contract.
The new agreement would break down the cost to $75 per day per Class C inmate. It also includes a cap at $75 per day for Class A, B and Felony prisoners brought to the county jail facility.
The new contract also spells the responsibilities of all agencies involved and includes language to clarifies when a prisoner is officially considered a county prisoner.
The county has asked the city of Beaumont for a contribution of $2 million to develop a Mental Health and Substance Abuse Diversion Facility for Jefferson County inmates, Swain and Stephens said.
Stephens said the facility would allow officers who run across individual with a mental health or substance abuse problem to drop them off at a diversion center instead of being entered in the criminal justice system.
Similar diversion facilities have been built in other Texas counties, including Harris, Tarrant and Bexar Counties. Stephens said these centers have a partnership with district attorneys offices and have mental health and substance abuse professionals who work in the facilities.
“What we are doing now is stacking a bunch of charges on folks who really aren’t culpable for the crimes they are committing because they are mentally ill, intoxicated or drugged up,” Stephens said. “These centers would not only divert them from the criminal justice system but also give them the resources and the help they need to try to get them well.”
Since starting the program in August 2014, Harris County saw a significant reduction in the amount of time offenders were booked into jail and stayed there, but it also dealt with significant challenges in engaging and retaining individuals who face severe mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Ultimately, lawmakers recommended an expansion of Harris County's pilot diversion operation because of the promise it showed, according to a The Houston Chronicle.
Jefferson County also will add some money to the pot from American Rescue Plan Funding. The city of Port Arthur is being asked to contribute $545,000, which is based on the same formula that was used to determine how the facility’s operating costs will be shared.
“We basically have $2.5 million dollars contributed to this facility to alleviate crowding in the jail,” Swain said.
According to previous Enterprise reporting, the approximately 1,200-bed Jefferson County facility has seen the population rise to a historic amount, with over 1,050 inmates due to a pandemic-related slowing of the criminal justice system.
While a timeline was not yet available, Swain said the American Rescue Plan requires that a project be selected and started by 2024 and completed by 2026.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Jefferson County Precinct 4 Commissioner Everette “Bo” Alfred thanked the officials for “finally coming to a conclusion for this long-running contract.”
meagan.ellsworth@beaumontenterprise.com
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