by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
In a relatively speedy meeting, the City Council Finance Committee unanimously approved three bills that will help the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office handle its inmates in a variety of ways. All three bills still require full Council approval.
The first bill amends how JSO deals with inmates in the work furlough program. Rather than deduct a percentage of the inmates’ gross pay each week, JSO will now deduct a flat fee of $105 a week if the inmates pay in advance and $126 a week if they pay late.
“We tried a percentage based on salary, but it was hard for the inmates to understand,” said JSO Asst. Chief Maurice Holderfield, adding the use of a percent often meant JSO had to deal in change. The amended legislation will assure the process uses whole dollar amounts.
The deductions are used to pay child support, alimony and other forms of restitution the inmate may owe. Holderfield said the inmates will also now be responsible for paying those bills and providing proof.
“When they get out they have learned virtually nothing about managing money,” he said. “We do not want them giving their money away... For some, this is the first time they have ever seen anything to do with banking.”
Holderfield said there are currently about 40 inmates in the work furlough program, but that number has been as high as 100.
“This is fair and standardized,” he said. “We will charge a flat fee each day for the inmate to be in the program.”
The Committee also approved a bill that will allow JSO to use a $476,682 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to purchase the hardware and software necessary to permit JSO to send arrest files to the Courthouse and the judges electronically instead of physically walking them from the jail to the Courthouse multiple times a day. This program won’t cost the City anything.
The final JSO bill also approves a DOJ grant, this one for $142,000. It will allow JSO to purchase bar-coded wristbands and the accompanying software for inmates. The system will allow JSO to monitor the location of an inmate at all times.
Finance also approved a payment of $250,000 to purchase 1.5 acres to build a retention pond for Lincoln Villas in Council and Finance member Denise Lee’s district.
According to the legislation, the property was appraised at $150,000 and that $100,000 difference caught the eye of members of the Finance Committee.
According to City Real Estate Officer Bob Williams, the City may have had to pay much more than that if the issue had gone to condemnation or mediation.
“In anticipation of severance damages from condemnation, we paid $100,000 more than the value,” he said. “Ultimately, we see this as a cost savings to the City because of the cost if we have to take the property and the cost of mediation if it got to litigation.”
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