During a regular meeting of the Lincoln and Sagadahoc Multicounty Jail Authority Nov. 10, Ron Smith of RHR Smith accounting warned the Board to expect another tough year.
“It’s the state of the state. Last year was tight but this year looks worse,” he said.
While his comments were not a surprise to the Board, it underscored a lingering frustration over budget constraints at the only multi-county jail in the state. Smith categorized the jail as “essentially a new business” and urged members of the Board to examine other facilities of a similar size.
Two Bridges correctional administrator Mark Westrum asked Smith about the availability of $20,000 in unemployment compensation insurance. Smith called the amount a “drop in the bucket” and urged jail officials to be creative in their budgeting.
In other business, a routine update of salary ranges by human resources committee member Bud Lewis suggested that increasing pay would keep the jail competitive. Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett dissented, wondering if such raises were “infinite” and questioned the wisdom of the process.
“To me this seems strange. Other occupations in similar straits do not do this,” Brackett said.
Lewis also outlined a change in the tuition reimbursement program available to TBRJ employees, creating considerable debate among the Board members. Under the current policy guidebook, TBRJ allows for staff members to enroll in “job appropriate” college courses with the expectation of full reimbursement from the jail.
Board member and Lincoln County Commissioner Bill Blodgett questioned whether or not there were “caps” on the amount of courses a staff member could take.
“We had an experience in Lincoln County where an employee was essentially completing a bachelor’s degree,” he said.
The policy language was amended to include a clause making the tuition reimbursement dependent on availability of funds; an issue Westrum said was unlikely as only a “handful” of employees currently took advantage of the program. In other policy news, Westrum was given the authority to sign checks for over $10,000, a practice he had been actively engaged in but without specific authority from a written policy. The Board agreed that he should be the primary signatory but included language to allow for other ranking staff members to sign in his stead.
The two-hour meeting concluded with Westrum’s administrator’s report in which he highlighted a plan to house federal inmates from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The inmates, typically non-violent offenders waiting extradition, would generate $85 dollars a day to the jail according to Westrum.
“I have no concerns over having them in the general population and this is a way to generate money,” he said.
As of Nov. 4, the inmate count stood at 139 with total beds by jurisdiction 42.45 percent for Lincoln County and 57.55 percent for Sagadahoc County. The Multicounty Jail Authority is scheduled to meet again sometime in January according to administrative officials.