County Council discusses changes in jail DOC money

A massive drop in the number of Department of Correction inmates housed at the Putnam County Jail is having a serious effect on the county general and jail budgets.

Unfortunately, it's only a sign of things to come, the Putnam County Council learned Tuesday.

Sheriff's Department officials said the number of DOC inmates has dropped from around 80 to the current level of 24. A change in state law will only make things worse for county jails.

As part of House Bill 1006, which Gov. Mike Pence signed into law in May, not only is the structure of felony convictions changing in the state, but the lowest-level felons (currently known as Class D) will now be housed in county jails.

The effect this will have on the Putnam County Jail is twofold. First of all, anyone sentenced to incarceration for these crimes will now be the charge of the county jail, not the Indiana Department of Correction.

Secondly, the change will open up beds at DOC facilities, meaning places like the Putnam County Jail will no longer be needed for DOC overflow.

This means the DOC inmates, and the $35 a day the county receives for housing them, will be going away altogether.

The current situation of fewer DOC offenders had Sheriff Steve Fenwick, Col. Tom Helmer and Jail Capt. Steve Smith in front of the council to request a change in the split of the DOC money.

Previously, the $35 was split between two funds, with the general fund receiving $20 and the jail receiving $15. The money to the jail has been the only source of funding for part-time jail help.

The shortage of inmates had the sheriff requesting that the jail receive all of the DOC money moving forward.

"All this is doing is paying our people to cover our inmates," Fenwick said.

The council approved the request, but with DOC inmates going away entirely, this is only a temporary fix.

Once the new law goes into effect on July 1, 2014, the county is likely to find itself in a situation of just as many inmates as it currently houses -- or even more -- with no money flowing in from the DOC.

With budget hearings coming up next month, councilors know they will be searching for the funds to cover yet another law change from the state.

"So the extra money they (the state) gave us for roads, they're taking away from jails," councilman Phil Gick said.

The answer may not be an easy one, but council president Darrell Thomas said it was something they had to grapple with at some point.

"I can't say we haven't talked about this before," Thomas said. "We knew it was going to happen sooner or later."

"Yeah, we just thought it would be later," Fenwick added.

The council meets for budget hearings on Sept. 16 and 17.