The budget woes of Two Bridges Regional Jail have been a consistent headline for the past seven years and a story veteran reporters could write in their sleep. Jail administrators and county officials have long lamented the influx of out-of-county inmates under jail consolidation, which the state was eager to have Two Bridges take on but reluctant to pay for.
The Lincoln Sagadahoc Multicounty Jail Authority made an important decision at their Aug. 12 meeting. The decision was not an official vote and it will most likely be reversed if and when the Attorney General determines state funds for county corrections will be distributed to the jail where the inmate is housed, not the county where the inmate originates.
The decision was important because jail officials finally put their foot down and sent a strong message that the taxpayers of Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties can no longer shoulder the burden of a broken county correctional system, a system broken largely by the unfunded mandates of the state.
The decision was not without controversy. For law enforcement officials driven by an obligation to give help wherever it is needed, not accepting out-of-county inmates from an overcrowded facility when space is available at Two Bridges is unsettling.
The argument was made, however, that accepting inmates from those overcrowded facilities without reimbursement simply fills the cracks in a broken system and serves as a temporary fix for a problem that requires a permanent solution.
We are sympathetic to the facilities struggling with overcrowding, but as taxpayers we are happy to know that jail officials are cognizant of the burden we have been shouldering.
We are pleased to know jail officials are taking steps to not necessarily lift the burden – our taxes for county corrections are still going to rise – but ensure the burden we are shouldering is ours and ours alone.
