Lockup deficient; county seeks tax

The Madison County jail faces probation or closure if deficiencies cited in a July 1 inspection by the Criminal Detention Facilities Review Committee are not corrected.

“Our jail is just way too small,” Madison County Sheriff Phillip Morgan said. “We haven’t got enough help.”

The Quorum Court has asked voters to pass a 1 percent sales tax Sept. 10, increasing the county rate from 2 percent to 3 percent, to provide additional revenue for the county general fund.

“Everything depends upon this tax,” said Justice of the Peace Pattie Shinn, who lives in Huntsville. “I’m not very hopeful it’s going to pass, as badly as we need it.”

The proposal goes to voters across Madison County just four weeks after voters in Huntsville, the county seat, passed a sales-tax increase to pay for five projects totaling $7.12 million.The Huntsville election was Aug. 13.

The current sales tax collected in Huntsville is 9.5 percent, with 6.5 percent state sales tax, 2 percent county sales tax and 1 percent city tax. The sales tax will increase to 10.5 percent in January within the city limits, and if the county sales tax proposal passes, the rate would go to 11.5 percent.

Outside the Huntsville city limits, the sales tax rate would rise from 8.5 percent to 9.5 percent if the county proposal passes.

Madison County is one of only two counties in the state without a sales tax to support the county’s main operating budget, Shinn said. The existing county sales taxes go to roads and bridges and the county’s emergency medical services. The county also has a voluntary library tax.

The additional sales tax would allow the county to start a building fund and set aside money to build a new jail within a few years, Shinn said.

“The cells are not adequate,” Shinn said. “There are certain criteria we can’t meet and won’t meet until we build a new jail.”

The sales tax also would provide revenue for repairing the courthouse, solid-waste system, county libraries and rural fire departments.

One priority for the Madison County sheriff’s office is to hire additional staff for the jail, said Danny Hickman, the former Boone County sheriff who is now state coordinator of the Criminal Detention Facilities Review Committees. The county’s jailers serve a dual function as 911 dispatchers, and only one person is on duty on some shifts.

The Criminal Detention Facilities Review Committee for the 4th Judicial District inspected the jail July 1. The committee also found that the jail needs immediate attention for issues that put staff and inmates at risk. Issues pertaining to jail cells include inadequate size for the number of inmates the jail must accommodate, a booking area that is not in a secured area and is unsafe for the public entering and exiting the building, and no cells for disabled inmates.

The committee found that the sheriff’s office needs a policy for key control to improve security, up-to-date firefighting equipment, and adequate space for food preparation and handling.

The committees oversee 122 jails in the state, Hickman said. Jail inspections have resulted in the closures of jails in Newton, Phillips and Woodruff counties for not meeting state jail standards, Hickman said. Jails in five counties have been placed on probation: Crawford, Fulton, Greene, Jackson and Nevada.

“We work to make a safer environment for all the staff and inmates,” Hickman said.

The Madison County jail is attached to the courthouse, Morgan said. Because it has only eight beds, the county houses men at the county jail but transports women and children to be held in Washington County. Transporting inmates to and from the Washington County jail and the Madison County Courthouse leaves the county short of a deputy for two hours.

Madison County’s total annual budget this year is $8.64 million, with $2.59 million in the general fund. The sheriff’s office operates on an annual budget of about $1.12 million, with about $54,000 going toward supplies, such as food and clothing for the jail, Morgan said.

The jail has a staff of five jailers, who also serve as 911 dispatchers. The average salary is about $25,000.

Sometimes, the jail has two people working during a 2-10 p.m. shift, but most of the time one person is on duty to manage the jail and dispatch, Morgan said. When only one staff member is on duty and must check on an issue in the jail, the staff member is not able to answer calls into dispatch from deputies in the field.

“It’s been an issue,” Morgan said. “This has been ongoing.”

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 08/23/2013

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