Little has changed at the Madison County jail since a state committee on jail standards found that the jail did not comply with state standards.
"That's what we're still working on," Sheriff Phillip Morgan said. "We just hadn't gotten the money to do anything yet."
The Madison County Quorum Court will weigh Monday whether to send voters a new proposal to raise the county sales tax rate by 1 percentage point to support the county general operating budget. Voters rejected a similar proposal in September.
The Quorum Court meets at 6 p.m. Monday in the Madison County Courthouse in Huntsville.
County Judge Frank Weaver said the jail is one issue he hopes to address in the proposal to increase the county sales-tax rate.
A state Criminal Detention Facilities Review Committee in July warned the county that the Madison County jail faces probation or closure if deficiencies in facilities and staffing are not corrected.
The jail is an eight-bed facility built in the 198os with cinder block walls and concrete floors. Each cell has a toilet and a raised area that serves as a bed. The jail kitchen is minimal with a full-size refrigerator, coffee pot and microwave.
The jail is staffed with an administrator and five employees who function as both jailers and dispatchers, Morgan said. They work a 40-hour week and earn about $30,000 per year. At times, only one jailer-dispatcher is on duty, which was one deficiency cited by the committee.
Capt. Robert Boyd explained that dispatchers run the jail while also responding to 911 calls and communicating with officers for the county, the Huntsville Police Department, emergency medical services, Game and Fish Commission, and Arkansas State Police. Under jail standards, the staff is supposed to check on the inmates every 15 to 30 minutes, he said.
But 911 calls alone can range from five calls per day to as many as 30 or more calls, said Amie Bilyeu, jail administrator. A dispatcher may be handling a 911 call while receiving requests from different law enforcement agencies to dispatch medical services or search for warrants. They also might have an issue with an inmate.
"You have to be an extreme multitasker," Bilyeu said. "Even with two people here, it's just not enough."
The jail is full most of the time and can only accommodate men, Morgan said, because female inmates can't be separated. Jail regulations also require the county to keep those sentenced for misdemeanors away from those serving time for felonies.
"We have to turn so many out," Morgan said, especially those convicted of misdemeanors such as failure to appear in court on traffic violations or for drunken driving. "They know they're not going to have to stay because we haven't got room for them."
If the sales tax were to pass, Boyd said he hopes the sheriff's office could hire two more deputies and two more jailer-dispatchers.
The county operates on a total budget of $9.5 million, with $2.5 million for the county general budget, including the sheriff's office and jail, County Clerk Faron Ledbetter said.
A 1 percent sales tax generates about $1 million in annual revenue for the county, but each city in the county receives a share, which would leave the county with about $850,000, Ledbetter said. The Quorum Court on Monday will discuss how the money would be used.
Weaver plans for the proposal to go to voters during the November general election, pending approval by the Quorum Court.
The state levies a total sales tax of 6.5 percent, and Huntsville collects a sales tax of 2 percent. Within Huntsville, retail purchases are subject to a total sales tax of 10.5 percent. If voters passed the 1 percentage point increase, that would rise to 11.5 percent.
Outside of Huntsville, the total sales tax would increase from 8.5 percent to 9.5 percent.
NW News on 05/18/2014