Will One of Smith's Little Dealers Sue The County?

From:
The Florida Times-Union
August 30, 2007S
Sheriff airs concerns on Camden jail
By Gordon Jackson, The Times-Union

KINGSLAND - Camden County Sheriff Bill Smith has told county commissioners overcrowded conditions in the county jail are creating tension among inmates, including a recent fight that nearly became a riot. -------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------

In an Aug. 6 letter, Smith described the jail conditions as "dire" since he added 60 beds in common areas more than a month ago to increase capacity. The extra beds have allowed Smith to bring back inmates from other counties, where they were housed because the 150-bed Camden County jail was filled to capacity.
The move, Smith wrote, is a way to keep operating costs from "spiraling out of control." The county was paying $45 a day for each inmate held in other counties.
"The additional inmates made a crowded situation even worse and greatly increased the tension among the inmate population," Smith wrote.
As many as 32 inmates in one cell block are all using the same shower, he said.
Smith also expressed concerns inmates' family members or attorneys would sue over jail conditions.
In his letter, Smith quoted a state law that allows inmates to be housed in other counties if conditions in a jail are unsafe.
County commissioners, however, said Smith created the problem.
Commissioner Katherine Zell said Smith "should have known what to expect" when he brought inmates back from other counties.
She questioned why Smith is making jail conditions an issue because he told commissioners in January the jail was adequate. Smith said then a new or expanded jail should not be among the projects in referendum for a 1-cent sales tax.
With the tax already approved by voters, it's too late to use any of the money for a new or expanded jail, Zell said. Also, the county budget for the upcoming fiscal year has no funds for a costly jail expansion, she said.
"The question is why is this an issue, now? I want him to tell us what we need and convince us," Zell said.
Lt. William Terrell, a spokesman for Smith, said the letter was intended to make commissioners aware there is a potential problem in the jail.
"He wants to be on the record," Terrell said.
So far, Terrell said, there have been no issues between jailers and inmates, even though staffing levels have not increased since jail capacity was increased.
Relatives of the inmates who had been held in Irwin County are happy because of the time it saves them to visit their family members, Terrell said. It is about 115 miles from Woodbine to Ocilla, the Irwin County seat.
'He put us on notice'
Commission Chairman Preston Rhodes said he has "no clue" how the potential inmate problem will be resolved.
"He put us on notice he has a situation," Rhodes said. "I can't control how he operates his department."
Commissioner David Rainer said he believes Smith's letter was a way to make commissioners understand if jail problems persist they may have to decide on additional funding.
With no chance for new 1-cent sales tax funding until 2013, the only way to fund a new jail or expansion is through property taxes or bonds, he said.
"As time passes, you're going to need to do something," Rainer said. "This would not be the time to spend millions of new money."
Now is not the time
Commissioner Steve Berry agreed a larger jail or addition will be needed sometime in the future, but not now.
An expansion could cost as much as $15 million and Berry said Smith has never attempted to trim his department's budget. After the County Commission cut Smith's budget by $1.3 million, the sheriff gave pay raises and hired more staff, he said.
Berry said he is opposed to increasing the county's capacity to hold inmates because Smith and the staff at the jail "have demonstrated their incompetence by the illegal use of inmate labor."
Smith sent the letter so he could say "I told you so" if something goes wrong in the jail, Berry said.
Berry has also criticized Smith for using confiscated drug money to pay inmates for labor, for donations to private charities and to create a scholarship in his name at the Citadel, his alma mater. Instead, Smith could have used the money to offset taxes, he said.
"The sheriff has seized more than $20 million in confiscated drug money over the last 10 to 15 years," he said. "Certainly, some of this money could have been used to solve this [jail overcrowding] problem."
gordon.jackson@jacksonville.com,
(912) 729-3672
This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/083007/geo_195651753.shtml.

TRSP Review: After the County Commission cut Smith's budget by $1.3 million, the sheriff gave pay raises and hired more staff, he said.

That is where the raises went.

there have been no issues between jailers and inmates, even though staffing levels have not increased since jail capacity was increased.

But more admin vote getter's have been added.