Gene Walker was present at the Feb. 23 meeting to discuss with the Daviess/DeKalb County Regional Jail Board the "hard feelings and animosity" some of the residents of Pattonsburg feel toward the jail.
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"We need to work better at finding ways to get along and deal with the issues and concerns that people have and questions that keep coming up," he said. "It would make life a lot simpler on all of us."
Many of the issues brought up have been "hashed and re-hashed" and both Mr. Walker and the members of the jail board expressed frustration at not being able to get their message across.
"Some of it may just be sour grapes, something for people to hang their hat on, and some of it may be legitimate concerns." Mr. Walker said. He added: "It’s all public information and it’s all public money. The public needs a source for information."
At the meeting, he suggested and the board agreed that many of the questions and concerns could be handled by making the public aware of the times and dates of public meetings. The next meeting of the jail board is set for 10 a.m. on Friday, March 30, in a machine shop located northeast of the jail. Public notice of the meetings and the minutes from the meeting had previously been posted inside the jail. In the future both will be posted in a more publicly accessible place, at city hall or the post office or both.
"The minutes need to be available for public examination," said Mr. Walker. "People’s concerns and questions can be handled at the open meetings. After that, they shouldn’t have any reason or excuse to fuss about it."
Mr. Walker cited amongst the residents grievances the issue of prisoners being released onto the streets in the city of Pattonsburg, sometimes in the middle of the night.
"The jail holds them for 24 hours and then turns them loose whether they have a place to go or not," Mr. Walker said. "In the interest of getting along, there might be a different avenue somewhere to deal with that."
He noted that the Cameron prison transports their prisoners downtown to the bus stop and waits to see to it they get on the bus. However, it’s only two miles from the prison to downtown Cameron.
Bus stops near Pattonsburg are at a considerably longer distance. Bus stops exist at the Winston junction, Bethany and Cameron.
Mr. Walker added that the release of prisoners at Pattonsburg after hours <197> where there are no public facilities, no businesses open; no public transportation available; no public phone (repeated vandalism forced the phone to be taken out); and no shelter, for that matter <197> is not only unnerving to residents, but does a great disservice to the prisoners.
"These aren’t master criminals," he said. "They’re people who made a mistake. Many of them don’t know they’re going to wind up so far away from the county seat. If they haven’t made arrangements for somebody to come and get them, they’re out on their own."
This subject was addressed in a story in the Gallatin North Missourian, "Pattonsburg at Odds with Regional Jail," published on July 19, 2006. In answer to the complaints, Jail Administrator Larry Hadley repeated pretty much what he said in that article, stating, "A free man is a free man." He said that once a judge turns a prisoner loose and he is bonded out, he is free to go as he pleases. Mr. Hadley said that every effort was made to offer rides to prisoners who happened to be going the same way as a prison official, but that oftentimes the offers were refused, in which case, the jail administration had to respect the civil rights of the released prisoner and abide by the law.
Many residents had questions regarding the hiring of the new budget director, David Tolen.
"I have no doubts whatsoever about David’s honesty; he could run my business tomorrow if he wants to," said Mr. Walker. "The people on the jail board are good people, fine folks, who do a monumental job. They’ve made a commitment to the job and do what they believe is best for the county."
Nevertheless, as public servants presently on the Pattonsburg city council and running for mayor next election, Mr. Walker felt compelled to pass along comments he’d been hearing from people in the community.
Among their concerns with the position of the budget director were: <197> Why was the position for the budget director advertised for such a short period of time? <197> Who applied for the position? <197> Did the board interview the applicants for the position or was the decision left solely to the jail administrator?
Comments and reactions that Mr. Walker has heard from residents were along the line of <197>They made the job up <197> that it was an "amazing coincidence" that the same man who pushed to get the jail under county ownership while serving as county commissioner, lost the election, and now served as the jail’s budget director.
In response to the criticism, Mr. Tolen said that he could only say what he had said so often before, that it is the jail board’s job to hire the administrator and the administer’s job to hire jail employees, whether that be secretary, security guards or budget director, and he didn’t have anything to do with it.
"The jail operates on a $2.275 million dollar budget," Mr. Tolen said. "The job of budgeting had been put off on the jail administrator Mr. Hadley, but as the jail keeps going and growing, the auditors found the responsibility needed to be divided."
At their Nov. 30 meeting, Larry Hadley, jail administrator, received instructions from the jail board to advertise for the position of budget director before the next meeting in December, with applications to be discussed and entered in at that meeting. As to the advertisement for the job of budget director for the jail, it was placed in the Pony Express on Dec. 19 and Dec. 26; the Gallatin North Missourian on Dec. 20 and Dec. 27; the Ad Pages (Chillicothe) on Dec. 20 and Dec. 27; and in the Trenton Republican Times on Dec. 25; and was also online. The application deadline was Dec. 28. Mr. Tolen was hired for the job on Jan. 3.
"The budget process needed to be started the first of January and the board had just got the audit in December so there was a time constraint," Mr. Tolen said. "There was time enough for four or five other applicants to apply."
As to the complaint that he had previously served on the county commission which oversees the jail, Mr. Tolen replied, "I needed a job. I applied for the job. I didn’t create the job. Sheriff Heldenbrand has responded to the question, Larry Hadley has responded and I’ve responded. People don’t like the answer they’re hearing, but the truth is the only answer there is."
Mr. Tolen added, "I don’t know what the big deal is. The job was advertised and I turned in a resume just like everybody else. I don’t see the point in dredging it up. People who keep having questions should read the paper this time and get the answer."
Another sore spot with some Pattonsburg residents is that moving the jail from a privately owned entity to a county owned entity took it off the tax roles. Mr. Walker said when the jail was privately owned there was the prospect of more land development, more jobs, and more economic development, all of which would have benefitted the city. Now the money goes to the county and the city receives no property tax at all.
In response to this complaint, Mr. Walker said the Pattonsburg Fire District had recently done a fire equipment and safety inspection at the jail. The inspection will be done every three months and should help the jail with insurance ratings and costs. The fire inspection was for a fee of $750, which was approximately the tax revenue received previously when the jail was a private entity. Mr. Walker said this is just one of the ways Daviess-DeKalb County Regional Jail is trying to replace some of the lost tax revenue to the area.
The motor fuel bid was another source of complaint. As to the fuel issue, board members repeated what they had cited in last month’s published board minutes <197> that it was "cheaper down the road" to use MFA cards as they tracked fuel spending.
In addition to posting of notice of meeting times and the posting of the actual minutes from the meetings, members of the jail board, Commissioners Dick Lippold and Lance Critten and Sheriffs Kevin Heldenbrand and Wes Raines offered to come to a public city meeting in the future to take questions from the community in an effort to clear up misunderstandings or confusion.
In other business at the regular meeting of the Daviess/DeKalb County Regional Jail held on Friday, Feb. 23, in Pattonsburg, the financial report was presented by Budget Director David Tolen and approved by the board. Mr. Tolen was also authorized to make a CD transaction .
According to the budget report, the final balance for sales tax revenue was $509,578.01 in the banks.
The beginning balance for the sales tax was $457,256.74. The sales tax income for the month of January was $70,384.84 and for the month of February $58,693.91 for a total of $586,335.49.An interest payment was made in the amount of $76,757.48.
Mr. Tolen reported that a CD deposit was made out of these funds to BTC Bank in the amount of $450,000 on Feb. 5. (Leaving $59,478.01 for cash on hand.) Mr. Tolen said the money in the CD would generate about $12,000 interest in six months and comes out on Aug. 5 in time for the next principal and interest payment of $426,682.50 toward the bond debt, which is due on Aug. 15. Of that amount $340,000 is the principal and $86,682.50 is the interest.
The jail netted $266,204.47 in revenue, according to the budget report.
From Jan. 27 to Feb. 23, the jail’s operating account showed total revenue of $554,909.25 and total expense of $288,704.78. Total commissary – $44,696.83; Evercom – $9,702.06; jail $499,528.79; Swanson $645.97.
Another $20,000 went toward February’s line of credit repayment. The full debt is predicted to be paid off by June.
Budget to actual figures for the jail’s operating account showed income was more than projected and spending was less than projected.
According to the report, over January and February Daviess County saved $42,956.50; DeKalb County saved $64,379.72; for a total of $107,336.22.
In other business at the Feb. 23 meeting, Larry Hadley, jail administrator, stated that the jail is now buying its tobacco through KJ’s Two Stop.
The newly purchased lift is up and working.
During old business, the board discussed an increase in the health insurance rate. The board accepted the health insurance bid, which changes on March 1. The hospital plan is with Blue Cross.
A dental insurance company will contact the board about meetings and sign-up.
The board discussed insurance and medical office billing.
The jail is expecting to sell a bus, old computers and other miscellaneous at Clarksdale Auction on Saturday, April 21.
Training for Connie Sloan to become a dietary manger has begun. Mr. Hadley started sheriff academy training.
The video court, previously projected to cost about $200 saw a dramatic increase to over $10,000 for three units when the court administrator’s office called the board to task with state specifications. If purchased the video systems would be placed in the two counties where the courts are located and one at the jail. Each unit runs between $3,100 and $3,400, depending on what equipment is installed.
The video court was seen by the board as a means of saving on travel expenses. The jail is about 30 miles from each courthouse. It was also seen as a way to cut down on liability involved in the transport of prisoners to and from court. The issues was tabled until next month when more information is expected from the court administrator’s office.
Mr. Hadley discussed upgrades to the jail’s backup security system with the board.