BY EMMA PEREZ-TREVIÑO: The Brownsville Herald
October 26, 2005 - Cameron County's jail system is filling fast with federal inmates, so Cameron County Commissioners Court responded Tuesday by approving temporary staff to handle the influx.
The court also authorized the purchase of equipment for two kitchens at the old county jail and Detention Center No. 1 on Harrison Street.While this fiscal year's county budget, not even a month, old projects a daily average of 300 federal inmates, the population on Oct. 24 was 404 with another 100 expected, raising the average to 500.
"We need to keep up with the standards," Sheriff Omar Lucio told the court, referring to state regulations regarding jail manning requirements.
The court approved the temporary employment of two clerks, three supervisors and four jailers for a cost of about $150,000 per year, allowing the department the flexibility to downsize if the jail population decreases. The temps join 257 employees in the four-jail system.
The court also urged sheriff officials and County Auditor Mark Yates to communicate to ensure adequate planning and to be aware of budgetary implications.
"You people need to talk to each other," Precinct 4 Commissioner Edna Tamayo told them. Lucio and Yates planned to meet this morning.
An additional 200 federal inmates from the 300 initially budgeted would mean $2.6 million more for the county from the U.S. Marshals Service to house the inmates, Lucio said. Total revenue from the federal government would be $6.5 million if the number holds up, Lucio told the court.
The sheriff attributed the increase in federal inmates to the work of Federal Detention Division Chief Jailer Mike Leinart, who Lucio said has gained the federal agency's trust.
The Oct. 24 population report shows Carrizalez-Rucker over its established capacity by 113 inmates, but Chief Deputy Gus Reyna said the inmates were in transition to the county jail and Torres facility.
In other action Tuesday, the commissioners court:
- Agreed to provide $21,177 as its share in the city of Brownsville's cost to provide increased and more direct bus service for Cameron Park residents. County officials urged the city to continue with plans to provide bus routes to other colonias in the southernmost part of the county.
- Continues to review several options for the projected purchase of equipment for the historic courthouse known as the Dancy Building.
- Increased the salary for the Bail Bond Board administrative assistant from $16,550 to $18,000
- Dedicated the county annex building in La Feria in honor of Justice of the Peace Arturo Salas and the Port Isabel annex in honor of Justice of the Peace Bennie Ochoa III.
