Information from WYSH Radio
Last week, the Anderson County Commission held a public hearing on the budget, and the biggest obstacles to having a fiscal plan in place for the new fiscal year are finding funding for the Sheriff’s Department to adequately staff the soon-to-be-completed jail expansion and what to do about the embattled alternatives to incarceration program.
The Sheriff’s Office has requested funding for 34 jailers but as it stands now, the budget contains money for 15 jailers.
County Mayor Terry Frank has recommended cutting the budget for the program aimed at cutting down the jail population from $300,000 to $58,000. Some commissioners, most notably Myron Iwanski, insist that the program can still be made to work and that not all of the options for finding funds to keep it operating have been explored.
The new fiscal year begins July 1, and the County Commission will hold additional budget discussion sessions on June 10 and 13 leading up to the Commission’s regular June 17 meeting. If the budget has not been adopted by then, more meetings would be held on June 20 and 24.
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Denny Phillips says
The Mayor’s plan makes sense, calling for a beefing up of existing programs like Drug Court, funding an ankle bracelet program to allow non-violent offenders to participate in a house arrest program, funding 5 new jailers and still leaving funding in place for some activities with the ACAI program.
To date, CC has been unable to identify any individuals that have been kept out of jail by the wishful thinking of the current program.
David A. Vudragovich says
With the ankle bracelet, the offendee pays for it. They can also pay for the dedicated phone line in the house (if that is not ancient technology now). And if they cannot afford the fine, then they can go to jail and give up their freedom. Sort of like a breathalyzer, the guilty party pays for it, our tax dollars should not subsidize that.
Denny Phillips says
Very true David. The monitoring is handled by a private company, removing burden from the ACSD. The bracelets monitor for alcohol and drugs and in Knox County have provided outstanding results on reducing recidivism.
The bracelets are beneficial in other ways as well. Consider that the jail no longer had to provide meals, medical treatment, utilities, etc. and you can imagine considerable savings. For the inmates, the program allows individuals to stay at home with children, elderly or infirmed family members that need assistance.
The biggest political boon? Well, the judiciary seems excited about this program, something ACAI was unable to achieve.