Hays County Jail inmates and the people who work with them were on the Hays County Commissioners Court agenda on Tuesday.
As he does every week, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra read the report on the jail population and inmate outsourcing. For the week of April 21-27, the average daily population of the Hays County Jail was 533, with a peak of 542 on April 25. The average daily number of outsourced inmates was 210 – 207 males and three females. The county sent those inmates to Bell, Burnet, Caldwell, McLennan, Limestone and Walker counties at a cost of $73,979.
“As is noted, the dollar amount spent is rising,” Becerra said.
The county spent about $4,300 more on inmate outsourcing the week of April 21-27 than it did the previous week.
Hays County resident Dan Lyon spoke during public comments about the practice of inmate outsourcing and the amount of tax dollars it costs.
“Who is the architect of this disaster,” he asked, “and is anyone being held responsible?”
The Hays County Jail has a capacity of 363, but Texas Jail Standards requires jails to keep 10 percent of their capacity open, so the jail can hold 311 inmates. The jail expansion, which opens in just under a year, will provide 192 more beds.
The corrections officers who work at the county jail were recognized with a proclamation Tuesday morning when the commissioners voted to proclaim May 5-11 as National Correctional Officers and Employees Week. Hays County Sheriff Gary Cutler and Jail Administrator Capt. Julie Villalpando praised the officers who work in the jail.
“They’re some of the hardest, most dedicated workers in the entire county,” Cutler said. “... When they go to work, big steel doors close behind them.”
Cutler praised the leadership at the jail – Villalpando in particular – and she spoke about the corrections officers and the hard work they do.
“Oftentimes, it’s not recognized, because we’re out of sight and out of mind,” she said.
In other business Tuesday morning, the commissioners approved a request from a taxpayer to refund the penalty and interest accrued on a tax payment to the county. The taxpayer provided proof of an attempt to pay the original tax amount electronically before the delinquency date and said the failure to pay was due to an error in the transmission of funds.
“We have the evidence that the taxpayer submitted that shows she did do what she was supposed to do,” County Tax Assessor-Collector Jennifer O’Kane told the commissioners. “The bank deducted money out of her bank account but did not get the check to us.”
O’Kane also requested that a former accountant in her office be hired for 8 hours a week for a six-week period to help train a new employee. The former employee had worked in the tax office for more than 18 years and, O’Kane said, was “instrumental in starting our accounting program.” The commissioners approved the hire.
