Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 4 · column 1 of 3 · from the scan, no model involved
It is preferable, too, that the sheriff and his deputies be available at the jail building instead of elsewhere in the courthouse complex.
The proposed drunk tank would enable intoxicated individuals to be segregated from the rest of the inmates, thereby removing an often unruly and disruptive influence from the general inmate population.
If the kitchen were located in the jail, trustees could help in the kitchen, giving them training which they could later use to advantage after their release. That might also reduce the costs of personnel, which, although they are borne by the State Compensation Board, are ultimately paid by all the taxpayers in the Commonwealth.
Presently, the county is paying $3 per inmate for each meal. Sheriff Woodward assured the supervisors that, with a kitchen, each inmate could be fed for between $1.50 and $2.20 per day. That represents a considerable savings to the county.
Last time the jail was renovated, the state picked up 80 percent of the tab, leaving the county to fund only 20 percent of the cost for the renovations. Now, the formula is 50/50. In the future, the formula is not likely to increase in the county’s favor.
Lessons, too, can be drawn from the high school addition and the handicapped access projects. The longer the county waits, the more the project is likely to cost. It is possible, too, that in the meantime the state will enact more stringent requirements, bumping the cost even higher.
Although we understand the supervisors’ reluctance to embark on yet another capital improvement project which will stretch the county’s budget even farther, we fear that waiting and relying on stopgap measures will prove to be shortsighted and, in the end, possibly cost the county even more.
r
96.1%