Sent the following to Reps. Hill-Smith, McConnell and Morigeau on House Judiciary:
Representatives Hill-Smith, McConnell and Morigeau,
Missoula County supports HB 230 – Require certain costs paid to detention centers be based on actual costs, as heard in House Judiciary today. In 2015, HB 2 set an artificial cap on the daily rate charged by local detention centers to house state inmates of $69 per day. HB 230 would remove this cap and allow detention centers to charge the actual costs incurred to house these inmates. The Missoula County Detention Facility is often overcrowded with inmates awaiting placement in state facilities and must currently shift the additional costs of holding these inmates to local property tax owners.
Please support HB 230.
Respectfully, Vickie Zeier on behalf of the Missoula County Commissioners
Vickie Zeier Missoula County Chief Administrative Officer vzeier@missoulacounty.us (406) 258-4229
Email from Chris Lounsbury in response to Rep. Morigeau:
Rep. Morigeau,
Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us for more information. In Missoula County it costs just over $100 per day (actual costs) to house an inmate. We charge this rate to every agency that holds an inmate in Missoula County's Detention Center, except the state. (We house inmates for the City of Missoula and several surrounding Counties.) In the past year we have had periods of time where we had more than 75 inmates being held for the state but the average has been 30 inmates per day. This means that for every state inmate held in Missoula County local funds are used to cover the $35 dollar difference per day in the actual costs versus the rate set by the state. If we use the average number of inmates and costs per day we come out to $383,250 in costs paid through local property tax mill levy. ($35 per day x 30 inmates x 365 days per year). You also inquired if we required to take these inmates or if we could refuse them and that is a complicated question because there are certain but limited circumstances where we can refuse them but in most cases we must hold them. Missoula County can refuse to take some state inmates in that we can refuses to take the inmate if our facility is over crowded, yet we cannot refuse to take them if they are needing to be held to appear in court in Missoula. In addition, we must hold inmates sentenced in court until there is a space for them in a state facility, so if the inmate has been sentenced and it takes two weeks to locate a spot for him in a state facility we must hold him until that time (this is an extremely common occurrence). Also if a state officer such as probation and parole arrests an offender we must accept that prisoner until he can be seen in court.
As you may have read Missoula County's Detention Center runs over capacity at almost all times, so overcrowding and holding state inmates present challenges beyond just the fiscal issues attempting to be addressed in HB 230.
I hope this information was helpful, if there is more information we can provide you please don't hesitate to ask.
Sending the following today at noon: Representatives, Missoula County supports HB 230 – Require certain costs paid to detention centers be based on actual costs, on the House floor this afternoon. In 2015, HB 2 set an artificial cap on the daily rate charged by local detention centers to house state inmates of $69 per day. HB 230 would remove this cap and allow detention centers to charge the actual costs incurred to house these inmates. The Missoula County Detention Facility is often overcrowded with inmates awaiting placement in state facilities and must currently shift the additional costs of holding these inmates to local property tax owners. Please support HB 230.
Missoula County supports HB 61 – Revise and update 9-1-1 laws – on the House floor this afternoon. Existing 9-1-1 statutes are out of date and do not address the needs of 9-1-1 centers and residents. Current statute collects $1 from each telephone line to provide funding for 9-1-1 center technology and wireless carrier services that provide the location of wireless 9-1-1 callers. HB 61 updates these statutes to allow the $1 collected to be used for its intended 9-1-1 purpose by providing rule making authority to address current and future needs of 9-1-1 centers in Montana. While the bill has been amended from its original draft, Missoula County believes that liability protection for phone providers is not needed. This legislation’s original intent to providing new tools to 9-1-1 centers remains vitally important. Please support HB 61.
Sent the following to Reps. Hill-Smith, McConnell and Morigeau on House Judiciary:
ReplyDeleteRepresentatives Hill-Smith, McConnell and Morigeau,
Missoula County supports HB 230 – Require certain costs paid to detention centers be based on actual costs, as heard in House Judiciary today. In 2015, HB 2 set an artificial cap on the daily rate charged by local detention centers to house state inmates of $69 per day. HB 230 would remove this cap and allow detention centers to charge the actual costs incurred to house these inmates. The Missoula County Detention Facility is often overcrowded with inmates awaiting placement in state facilities and must currently shift the additional costs of holding these inmates to local property tax owners.
Please support HB 230.
Respectfully,
Vickie Zeier on behalf of the Missoula County Commissioners
Vickie Zeier
Missoula County Chief Administrative Officer
vzeier@missoulacounty.us
(406) 258-4229
Email from Chris Lounsbury in response to Rep. Morigeau:
ReplyDeleteRep. Morigeau,
Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us for more information. In Missoula County it costs just over $100 per day (actual costs) to house an inmate. We charge this rate to every agency that holds an inmate in Missoula County's Detention Center, except the state. (We house inmates for the City of Missoula and several surrounding Counties.) In the past year we have had periods of time where we had more than 75 inmates being held for the state but the average has been 30 inmates per day. This means that for every state inmate held in Missoula County local funds are used to cover the $35 dollar difference per day in the actual costs versus the rate set by the state. If we use the average number of inmates and costs per day we come out to $383,250 in costs paid through local property tax mill levy. ($35 per day x 30 inmates x 365 days per year). You also inquired if we required to take these inmates or if we could refuse them and that is a complicated question because there are certain but limited circumstances where we can refuse them but in most cases we must hold them. Missoula County can refuse to take some state inmates in that we can refuses to take the inmate if our facility is over crowded, yet we cannot refuse to take them if they are needing to be held to appear in court in Missoula. In addition, we must hold inmates sentenced in court until there is a space for them in a state facility, so if the inmate has been sentenced and it takes two weeks to locate a spot for him in a state facility we must hold him until that time (this is an extremely common occurrence). Also if a state officer such as probation and parole arrests an offender we must accept that prisoner until he can be seen in court.
As you may have read Missoula County's Detention Center runs over capacity at almost all times, so overcrowding and holding state inmates present challenges beyond just the fiscal issues attempting to be addressed in HB 230.
I hope this information was helpful, if there is more information we can provide you please don't hesitate to ask.
Respectfully,
Chris Lounsbury
Sending the following today at noon:
ReplyDeleteRepresentatives,
Missoula County supports HB 230 – Require certain costs paid to detention centers be based on actual costs, on the House floor this afternoon. In 2015, HB 2 set an artificial cap on the daily rate charged by local detention centers to house state inmates of $69 per day. HB 230 would remove this cap and allow detention centers to charge the actual costs incurred to house these inmates. The Missoula County Detention Facility is often overcrowded with inmates awaiting placement in state facilities and must currently shift the additional costs of holding these inmates to local property tax owners.
Please support HB 230.
Missoula County supports HB 61 – Revise and update 9-1-1 laws – on the House floor this afternoon. Existing 9-1-1 statutes are out of date and do not address the needs of 9-1-1 centers and residents. Current statute collects $1 from each telephone line to provide funding for 9-1-1 center technology and wireless carrier services that provide the location of wireless 9-1-1 callers. HB 61 updates these statutes to allow the $1 collected to be used for its intended 9-1-1 purpose by providing rule making authority to address current and future needs of 9-1-1 centers in Montana. While the bill has been amended from its original draft, Missoula County believes that liability protection for phone providers is not needed. This legislation’s original intent to providing new tools to 9-1-1 centers remains vitally important. Please support HB 61.
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