Consultants: Changes to save county nearly $2 million

The county began working with Griffith and Associates in April, officials said.

According to the report, a cash savings of $400,000 was achieved due to the declining numbers of outsourced inmates since April (compared to the previous 18 months). Since Dec. 24, the county has not outsourced any inmates.

Assuming the trend in outsourcing continues, projected cost savings for 2008, according to the report, will be about $1 million -- $210,000 of which the county already has achieved.

"Without the implementation of these programs, the county was on a strong course of spending the nearly $2 million this year," said Dick Kirkland of the consulting group.

Officials said the changes will give the jail one to three years before it reaches its maximum capacity of 306 beds -- which it exceeded in 2004.

"With Midland's population continuing to grow, the county will need to expand its facility," Carl Griffith said. "We will work with the architect that the county hires to design a low-costing expansion facility geared toward rehabilitation."

Changes made to help reduce the inmate population includes:

-- establishing a work crew program,

-- filling staff vacancies and reducing overtime,

-- improving the sharing of information to reduce time needed to prosecute,

-- sharing grand juries to reduce time spent on cases,

-- and improving the county's pre-trial services and pretrial bonding.

Work crew

More than 750 Class C misdemeanor cases are booked into the jail a month, the report stated. Since Class C offenders are the lowest-risk inmates, Midland County decided to make work crews an alternate sentencing.

The consultants estimate for every 10 inmates participating the city makes $180,000 annually in bed space savings and $11,000 in savings for the jail not having to serve meals.

The community could save another $10,000 through the public maintenance projects the inmates can perform such as cutting grass or maintaining parks and streets.

"The program will start soon," Sheriff Gary Painter said. "My hope is that this will help break the cycle of recidivism. It may help them find jobs and keep them from coming back."

Improving recruitment

Kirkland said with the inmate population decreasing, jailers have experienced some relief. That coupled with the Sheriff's Office new human resources approach has reduced the money spent on overtime, they said.

For the past several years, the office experienced an annual turnover rate of at least 20 percent -- compensated by the extra hours put in by existing staff.

"A conservative estimate shows that the county will save $25,000 annually if they continue with the trend," Kirkland said.

Prosecuting quicker

In the past, it would take about three weeks before the district attorney would receive a police report. This delay would prolong the inmates wait for a grand jury indictment, Kirkland said. Continued savings will be made by upgrading information sharing technology. The move, officials say, will help reduce the time it takes to prosecute offenders and costs.

District Attorney Teresa Clingman and her staff have been able to close more cases in a month than the number of cases they receive, officials said.

As a result, inmates wait less in jail saving the county about $30,000 in savings a year.

Another $5,000 can be saved when the district attorney's office can improve its scheduling, Kirkland said.

If 10 people are arrested for dangerous crimes within a month, Kirkland said imagine two cannot afford to bond themselves out.

"We recommend that the two waiting in jail would be tried first," Kirkland said. "The DA never had a tracking device that showed them this when scheduling."

Post-trial service

Since the consulting firm started working with Midland last year, the county's pretrial services program has doubled in its participants, officials said.

The 4 1/2-year-old program helps low-risk inmates who can't afford a bond release. Instead, they are released but are under strict supervision which the inmate is responsible for paying, Kirkland said.

The cost-savings of this program is estimated at $90,000 annually.

Improving technology

Inside the jails, the county already has installed and begun doing arraignments via video or teleconferencing. For every five inmates used in this program, the county saves $5,000, officials said.

Cutbacks in cost can be found in reductions in staff needed to handle the inmates and in transportation.

"It also reduces the liability risks," Kirkland said. "The county is hoping to start using video during visitation as well."

However, officials said new software needs to installed in order to ensure and maintain the programs that have been established.

Officials said some software already has been installed to monitor some of trends.

"All of our figures we estimated are on the conservative side," Kirkland said. "In my career, I have never seen a change take place this fast. And it's truly a reflection of the cooperation on all levels."

Estimated annual savings, according to Carl R. Griffth & Associates.

Programs amount

Pretrial waiver $90,000

Integrated technology $30,000

Shared grand juries $7,500

In-custody tried first $5,000

Work crews $201,000

Video arraignment $5,000

Overtime reduction $25,000

Pen Pack process $32,400

Pretrial waiver $90,000

Interagency cooperation $40,000

Contract jail beds $1.42 million

Total: $1.97 million

------

Source: Carl R. Griffith and Associates