Wording of the new state statute on jail operation in Maine has caused headaches for Lincoln and Sagadahoc Counties, but a proposed amendment could help.
Rep. Bruce MacDonald (D-Boothbay) introduced the proposed amendment before Maine Legislative cloture of new bills on Friday.
Lincoln County Administrator John O’Connell said Tuesday, he and Sheriff Todd Brackett drafted a wording change to 30-A of Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, Section 701, 2-A, which would combine the two counties’ cost of operating the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset into one lump sum.
“In the absence of any clarification from the state Board of Corrections (BOC), we figured we had better put this in so it will be able to enter the legislative process,” O’Connell.
Ever since enactment of the statute last year, the problem arose with the state regarding the operation of the jointly-funded facility, with funding being determined as if each county had their own jail, O’Connell said. Both counties currently participate in the cost of operation based on each county’s inmate census.
Lincoln County Commissioners have repeatedly stated when the legislation set up Two Bridges Regional Jail, it created a unique situation, which the new statute does not address. Under the legislation, the Jail Authority operates as a separate entity with representatives from each county for the jail’s operation.
O’Connell attended a session last week with the Maine County Commissioners Association on the subject of jails and mutual concerns counties have with the new legislation and future fears resulting from the state budgetary shortfall and so-named unified system for all county jails. He said Sagadahoc representatives were not present during the discussion.
A couple of weeks ago, both county boards met to try to resolve differences in cost-sharing plans and tried to hammer out one that each county could live with.
Before meeting with Lincoln County Commissioners in Wiscasset, Sagadahoc commissioners presented their own proposal for a 50-50 cost-sharing plan to the BOC.
However, Lincoln County Commissioners offered an alternative. They proposed a legislative change to have the total operational costs considered as one budget so that the new state cap would be applied to the unit instead of to each county’s operational budget.
The new statute makes it necessary to look at each county’s share separately with its own cap thus creating a problem with state revenue flow.
The statute states, “The assessment to municipalities within each county may not be greater than the fiscal county assessment for correctional-related expenditures which is…”
Instead of separate figures from Lincoln and Sagadohoc County, the proposed change would mean a combined total $5.3 million from the two counties for the jail’s operation and other correctional services included.
Other “correctional services” presumably would cover diversionary programs, a concern the Sagahahoc board shared recently, since the cap under the current statute’s wording does not take that into consideration.
It is unknown at this point when the proposal will go before the Maine Legislature for review, but O’Connell said it has to go through the whole committee process.
