The Hays County Commissioners Court is spending upwards of $50,000 to outsource inmates each week and the rates with Burnet County will increase should the amended contract pass during Tuesday's meeting.
The county jail has spent $2,846,930 to date on outsourcing inmates from the overpopulated facility and the commissioners have set aside just $822,435 for the upcoming fiscal year, knowing that the opening of the new jail will increase jail capacity and the start of new criminal justice programs should reduce the number of nights arrestees spend in jail.
It costs between $50 and $70 to house an inmate at various facilities, and Burnet County is increasing their rate from $50 per day to $55 per day.
The agreement with Caldwell County is also soon to expire and needs to be renewed to keep up with the overflowing jail. Estimates based on recent outsourcing counts show that an increase of $5 per inmate per night changes the weekly outsourcing cost for 170 inmates from $59,500 to $65,450.
There will also be discussion over an amendment for the health services agreement with Wellpath, LLC for the Juvenile Detention Facility. The amendment will extend the term for an additional year with a 4% increase.
The commissioners will vote on a $59,589 proposal with The Move Team for moving services for various Sheriff, Dispatch and Emergency Services offices for moving to the new Public Safety Building.
There will also be a vote on a funding agreement between Hays County and the City of Kyle to accept the City of Kyle’s $100,000 contribution towards the Emergency Cash Assistance Program (ECAP) assisting small businesses affected by the coronavirus economic fallout.
There may be action to create a Hays County Onion Creek Watershed Technical Group that would create floodplain information so that communities have the best available data and tools to manage floodplains and to plan and implement flood risk reduction projects. The cities and counties within the Onion Creek Watershed would work together on developing new regulations, proposing new projects and reviewing the floodplain within the watershed.
In other business, Hays County may fund a temporary position to aid elections administration for the November election.
This article has been updated since it was first published on 9/15/2020.
