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Past Issues


Whatcom Watch Online
Election Edition: Watching the Words of Candidates


October-November 2011

Dear Watchers

Election Edition: Watching the Words of Candidates

by David Camp

In this edition of the paper, for your review and consideration (gentle readers), are several questions for candidates for local office in the November election. Like this journal in general, the list of questions is somewhat eccentric: the issues addressed were those we considered topical, under-covered, controversial, and preferably all three. And I would hope that you would consider the candidate responses to be part of an ongoing democratic conversation rather than definitive contractual positions. Why? Because the process of becoming informed on the detail of issues takes time. We can’t expect candidates to be fully informed on evolving situations that require intelligent leadership, as the current financial situation facing the county certainly is, for example. County leadership has a $3 to 4 million dollar budget hole to close and the discussion needs to be fully informed and public and respectful.

What Will a New Jail Cost to Operate?

Which is why someone has to do the analysis and ask the tough questions. Whose job is that in the case of the county jail? Its chief proponent is Sheriff Bill Elfo; all the county incumbents, plus both Whatcom County Executive candidates support building a new 600 inmate-capacity jail at a cost of $65 to 70 million. But in the process of compiling responses and following up with candidates, I realized that no one is addressing the elephant in the room: what will it cost to operate a jail fifty percent larger than our current jail? How will basic budgeting proportionality not apply and the preferred new jail not cost fifty percent more than the current jail?

Consider this: We currently spend $12.5 million per year (2011 budget; 2010 actual: $12.0 million)1 on incarceration in Whatcom County. This represents an average of about $30,000 per year per inmate, based on an average of about 400 inmates.2 Based on this rough annual per-inmate cost, a new jail would cost $18 million per year to operate (600 inmates times $30k per inmate per year). Similarly, the industry rule of thumb is that jail operating costs will be 25 – 30 percent of the capital cost of building it. On this basis, a $65 – 70 million jail will cost between $16.25 and 21 million per year to operate.

This would represent an increase in the cost of operating the jail of between $4 and 9 million per year, between a 33 percent and a 75 percent increase on current operating costs!

Now these are rough estimates only, presented for discussion purposes. But it seems to this paper that in an environment of cuts to county spending to cover a $4 million budget hole, a proposed increase in expenses of this magnitude should be in general discussion. And considering that a big chunk of the cost of operating the county jail is borne by the cities, shouldn’t this issue be on the radar for them, also? Where is the pushback? Where is the honest discussion of this significant issue? Where are the creative solutions? Where is the fiscal leadership? How will we pay this bill without another tax increase?

Sources

1. According to Whatcom County public finance records

2. Whatcom County Sheriff’s department


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