By Megan Wehring
HAYS COUNTY – Amid staffing issues, Hays County entered an agreement to house overflow inmates.
With a 4-1 vote on Aug. 16, the Hays County commissioners court approved an Intergovernmental Inmate Housing Agreement between Hays County, Haskell County, and LaSalle Corrections West LLC. to help care for inmates. Judge Ruben Becerra was the dissenting vote.
Hays County will be guaranteed 100 beds for inmates on Oct. 1, when FY23 begins, and 200 beds for FY24/FY25. Housing, food, transportation and medical care for the 100 inmates will cost $95 per inmate per day (or $9,500 total daily). Inmates will also receive two roundtrip means of transport from the facility to Hays County each week, according to county officials.
Contracts with other counties and communities range from $60 to $100 per inmate per day, but do not include transport services.
Several weeks ago, commissioner Walt Smith looked into solutions other than housing inmates directly with neighboring counties. What prompted the agreement was Hays County had to start looking at possible inmate locations out of state.
“We are not the only one in this situation in the state, to say the least,” Smith said.
While outsourcing may not seem like the most ideal option for the inmates or their families, commissioner Mark Jones said it is the most cost-effective option for the county right now.
Judge Becerra was reluctant on the agreement because he said that he wanted to avoid spending nearly $10,000 per day housing inmates elsewhere when the county’s new jail facility is nearing completion.
Mike Davenport, Hays County Chief Deputy, said that staffing issues are keeping the facility from being ready to use. To house the 100 additional inmates, it would take hiring 10 to 12 corrections officers to reach the staffing capacity.
“Couldn’t we turbo boost for those corrections positions?” Becerra asked Davenport, in an effort to see how the county can better support the system and staff. “Because we were literally pouring out ridiculous amounts of money on outsourcing. I mean, there’s an opportunity to give you a dozen correctional officers with some sign-on bonus, some high dollar sign-on bonus. I believe we’re not doing everything we can to support you is what I’m saying. Is there something that we can do to bring this conversation back to better support you guys, to put you on a more competitive edge to bring correctional officers into your space?”
Davenport responded that because the Hays County Sheriff’s Office is currently going through contact negotiations, there would be contractual issues.
“I’m not opposed to it by any means,” Davenport said. “I’m all about getting them hired because I hate outsourcing as much as anybody. It’s very problematic for us, and we are not designed to function as we are. The sooner we can quit it, the better.”
Jordan Powell, assistant general counsel, outlined the termination clauses in Hays County.
• Budget-out clause: If any year that the county does not have sufficient revenues to fund certain contracts, and the commissioners court cannot fund the agreement, there is some ability to get out of the contract for that reason.
• If there’s a default on the other side of the agreement that cannot be remedied in 30 days, Hays County can exit the agreement.
• After the first three fiscal years, renewal periods are optional for Hays County.
If LaSalle and Haskell County opt to end the agreement with Hays County, they have a mandatory 30-day notice along with an additional 30-day period, where LaSalle would help transition inmates back to Hays County. LaSalle and Haskell County would both have to agree to contract termination and could terminate over issues like limited facility space or staffing issues.
