While not wanting to sugarcoat a rough economy and a disappointing number of contracts for new prisoners last year, budget manager David Tolen remained optimistic for the future of the Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail during a meeting to finalize the 2011 budget held Jan. 14.
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The jail gets its income from housing out-of-county prisoners. The search for new customers for the jail continues.
"Our interim administrator Bob Gray has contact with various counties from his many years of experience," Tolen said. "We will rely on those associations to bring some more business in."
There may not be as much money in the sales tax account and certificates of deposits as in previous years, but the amount remains sufficient to cover upcoming payments toward the principal and interest on the jail’s bond debt.
"Some of that money is being spent to reduce the principal payment on the bond ahead of schedule," Tolen said. "We’ll be saving money on the back end, the interest side."
He explained that banks pay only 1% interest on the money kept in CDs; yet the jail can save $112,000 by making an early payment with the CDs.
The jail district continues to save Daviess and DeKalb Counties taxpayer dollars while providing housing to other counties and municipalities for their inmates.
"The two counties have saved the basic purchase price for the jail of $3.5 million in just the first five years of operation," Tolen said.
The jail also provides jobs for about 50 area people.
"We hire local people and provide good benefits," Tolen said. "We still have a number of employees that have been at the jail for five years. The $900,000 spent on the payroll is going back into the area."
The Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail Board voted to transfer $600,000 from the sales tax account to the jail’s operating account during their meeting to finalize the budget on Jan. 14. By moving the money, the jail breaks even in earnings and expenses.
Projected income of sales tax revenues is $950,000.
Out of that money a payment will be made toward the bond debt of $875,000 along with an interest payment of $116,440. This reflects two payments on the bond instead of just one. The payment coming due is for $395,000 and the added payment is for $480,000. This will allow the savings of $112,000 in interest, which Tolen mentioned earlier.
The sales tax will be left with just shy of a million in its checking account and CDs — an amount equal to approximately one year’s income.
The next regularly scheduled meeting for the board has been changed from Friday to Tuesday, Jan. 25, at 10 a.m.