Jail delays affect several counties

Presidio County has 112 beds behind bars that are unfilled, and could continue to spend more than $4,500 per day until the county jail is approved.

After shutting its doors because of financial and management problems, county officials have been working on reopening the jail since it first closed in June 2009.

Presidio County Judge Paul Hunt said about $500,000 has been spent on the jail since the beginning of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1, and the county has lost out on an additional $300,000 in revenue from the jail that would come from the federal government and other counties paying the jail to hold inmates.

In order to pass inspection, the jail must be operational with a full staff and no inmates.

“It’s brought Presidio County to its financial knees twice before, and I’m determined to keep that from happening again,” Hunt said. “It’s going to be a close call.”

The jail cannot open until the Texas Commission on Jail Standards approves the renovations made to the building, which it rejected in November because of smoke management issues in the jail.

Smoke management monitors the time it takes for alarms to go off when smoke is in the building and how quickly smoke travels through the building before exiting the jail.

Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez said the building lost its grandfathered status with the commission in 2009 when it closed, because the county needed to bring it up to new standards, a costly proposition.

Dominguez said while the money is an issue now, the jail was used as a scapegoat in 2009 for the county nearly going bankrupt, but he wouldn’t comment on what the real problem was.

Without any prisoners, the county is not only losing out on revenue but is also having to pay Brewster County to hold the Presidio County inmates.

“We have a budget here and at the same time we’re having to pay somebody to hold prisoners,” Dominguez said. “We’re losing money both ways.”

Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson said despite being paid by Presidio County to hold inmates, the Presidio County Jail has an immediate benefit for him when it is reopened.

The Brewster County jail holds prisoners from Presidio and Jeff Davis counties, but also holds federal prisoners that are magistrated in Presidio County.

On Tuesday, for example, the Brewster County Jail had 14 state prisoners and 31 federal prisoners, Dodson said.

With only a 56-bed jail, and U.S. Marshals bringing in as many as five to 10 prisoners at a time, deputies have to transfer federal prisoners as far away as Pecos and Sierra Blanca, Dodson said.

“What’s hurting us is the federal prisoners,” Dodson said. “It’s easier to have the prisoners that are going to arraignment that day in our jail.”

With a jail in Presidio County, he said it would be easier to transport federal inmates after they’re magistrated to make room for new ones. It also would alleviate the pressure of inmates from Presidio and Jeff Davis counties to make more room for federal prisoners.

“What I’m afraid of is they’re going to run out of money before they open,” Dodson said.

Alex Patnode, a supervisor with the U.S. Marshals, said a large percentage of federal prisoners reporting to the Brewster County federal court are being housed in Sierra Blanca and Pecos, which is not sustainable in the long run.

But after the most recent delays, he said he’s worried about whether the jail in Presidio County will ever open.

“It’s taken so long to get open you just never know,” Patnode said. “We’ve been making it work for now but it could be a major issue at some point.”

The question is whether the county can get the jail approved before having to take more drastic measures to save money.

Hunt said if the Presidio County Jail cannot pass inspection by the end of January, officials would begin to look at cutting the 16-person staff necessary to have an approved inspection.

Dominguez said they are ready for the inspection and will go through opening the jail no matter how long it takes.

“Being here, centralized location, it’s important,” he said. “To me, it’s too far to go back.”

Hunt said the public has been misinformed on the benefits of such a big jail with the misconception that the county can profit from having federal prisoners.

In fact, he said, the federal government only pays for the federal prisoners and the county government still pays for its own prisoners.

But Hunt did not express regret at the notion of having a jail, just the size.

“We have a jail,” Hunt said. “I wish we didn’t have a jail this big.”

Dominguez, who said he was frustrated with Hunt speaking on behalf of the jail, said the jail is the right size for their area, which will be a benefit not only to Presidio County but to surrounding counties.

“Once the jail is paid off, it’s going to be a big benefit,” Dominguez said. “Because that’s revenue that will be coming in.”

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