CARROLLTON — Carroll supervisors expressed concern Monday about a plan by the Mississippi Department of Corrections to reduce inmate numbers at county jails.
The plan put forth by new MDOC head Marshall Fisher would reduce by 12 the number of inmates who are approved for work in the Carroll Montgomery Regional Correctional Facility.
“It may save the state money, but it’s not going to save the taxpayers any,” board attorney Kevin Horan said. “The work presently done by inmates will have to be contracted and paid for by the counties.”
Inmate laborers cut grass on county-owned property and do other jobs, depending on their skills. Recently, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department and Tax Assessor’s Office fronts were refurbished with inmate labor.
Horan, also a state representative, said Fisher is deciding the issue without any input from the Legislature. He told the Board of Supervisors that Fisher believes putting more inmates into state-run community work centers rather than county-administered jails will save the state money, since these work centers are already staffed at full capacity.
Chancery Clerk Sugar Mullins told the board he understood a number of people have called Gov. Phil Bryant’s office to protest the move, but it appears the decision by Fisher will stand.
“If the plan had not been approved by Gov. Phil Bryant, it wouldn’t be done,” Horan said.
A letter from MDOC to the counties detailing the new plan also said counties should expect more such cuts.
The county had discussed building a new wing at the jail to separate work-approved inmates from the other population but decided against it.
“It looks like we made the right decision,” Beat 5 Supervisor Rickie Corley said.
The board also discussed the cost of feeding inmate workers. The past month’s bill for inmate lunches this past month was $455. The lunches come from Lu’s Grocery and cost $6 each, plus drinks, Deputy Rob Banks told the board.
When they leave the jail, inmates are given a piece of meat “that’s less than Spam” and bread, Banks said. “The ones who stay in get a hot meal,” he said.
The board unanimously voted to pay for work detail meals from capital projects funds for now and later to pay from the funds of whatever department the inmates are working for.
In other business the board:
• Voted 4-1 to purchase a new air conditioner for the Carroll County Health Department from Steve Daves Air Conditioning for $3,261. Board President Honey Ashmore voted against the move.
• Voted unanimously to allow Horan to write up specifications for bids for termite and pest control services at all county buildings. The services are now provided by more than one vendor, and the contracts expire at different times. Corley said he believed having just one vendor would “be in the county’s best interests.”
• Voted unanimously to approve seven days’ vacation time for purchasing clerk Sherry Blaylock.
• Voted unanimously to approve utility agreements on a project including County Roads 53, 166 and 153. Delta Electric Power Association will be paid $6,350 and Pelucia Water $3,100. AT&T does not charge for moving utility lines.
• Voted to approve reimbursement for constables Joe Holman and Rob Banks to attend a convention and training seminar in Gulfport June 1-6 at a cost of $350 each. Banks told the board the money for the seminar is in the constables’ budget.
