Council urges state to pay may or some inmates will be set free.
Felons could get a shorter stay in Salt Lake County’s jail if the Utah Legislature doesn’t pay more for state inmates.
The County Council has signed a resolution — and ordered an ordinance drafted — that could release state convicts early from jail if the Legislature doesn’t provide enough funding to house them. The less money, officials say, the less bed space for felons who are sentenced to the county lockup.
“There does come a time,” Councilman Randy Horiuchi said, “when you have to say, ‘Enough is enough.’”
The Utah Association of Counties has lobbied for similar measures in Davis, Utah and Weber counties, hoping to persuade lawmakers to put more cash into jail reimbursements.
While the state is supposed to split the cost of incarcerating felons in county jails, UAC Executive Director Brent Gardner said, actual funding has fallen far below that. The state set aside $6.5 million for jail reimbursements in this year’s budget, he says, but should be spending closer to $15 million.
UAC’s initiative now has the support of Utah’s most-populous county, where council members unanimously supported a resolution saying they will not continue to subsidize the state’s financial shortfalls.
“It is outrageous that the state, on a yearly basis, provides this unfunded mandate to county governments,” Mayor Peter Corroon said. That mandate affects public safety, “not only for the unincorporated county but for the cities we serve”
The resolution comes as yet another development in the long-running debate about how much the state should pay for inmates serving out their sentences in county jails.
The recession has only deepened the rift. Jails in Utah and Weber counties have reduced bed space because of budget woes.
Salt Lake County Councilman Joe Hatch characterized it as a “very difficult thing to do” to consider turning away felons because of inadequate state funding. But, he said, “we need the money.”
The question now is whether the state, also in a financial bind, will cough up the cash at a time when it is considering closing a prison pod of its own.
Written by: Jeremiah Stettler | The Salt Lake Tribune
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