Sagadahoc and Lincoln County officials spoke before the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee April 29 in support of a law to have the state Board of Corrections make interest payments toward the two-county jail's debt service.

The proposed law, LD 1320, an Act to Fairly Distribute the Debt Burden between State and County Correctional Facilities, was co-sponsored by Sen. Chris Johnson (District 20 – Somerville) and Rep. Bruce MacDonald (District 61 – Boothbay).

Among those who testified were: Lincoln County Administrator John O'Connell, Two Bridges Regional Jail Administrator Col. Mark Westrum, Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry, Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett, District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau, former State Representative Les Fossel and Lincoln County Commissioners William Blodgett and Hamilton Meserve.

Two Bridges Regional Jail is one of four flagship county jails in the state that collectively pay millions of dollars in debt service each year. This is in addition to costs for corrections, according to Westrum and others who spoke in favor of the bill. No one spoke against the bill, according to O'Connell.

In O'Connell's address to the committee, he said, “This legislation is very important to the taxpayers of our small county. We are in effect subsidizing inmates from elsewhere, including the state, and not getting appropriate compensation.”

A brief history

Residents from Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties approved a $24.6 million bond to construct the jail several years ago and have been paying on that bond ever since. With the opening of the jail in 2006, voters were told the revenue generated from out-of-county inmates (at $85 per day) would go far in paying down what was owed, according to Westrum. But the amount the jail received for these inmates changed to less than $23 per day in 2008. Interest continued to accrue.

Also, the dynamics of the jail changed. “It's not really a county jail, it's not quite a prison, either,” Rushlau said, speaking of Two Bridges' current status during a follow-up interview. “It's really something else because a large proportion of the population is not from Lincoln or Sagadahoc counties.”

Speaking not from a formal letter, but from memory, Rushlau explained the original intent of the jail. He said Two Bridges was planned as a county jail. Each county needed improved access to housing inmates and those involved planned carefully for a long term approach. Rushlau said boarding a majority of inmates from out of county has proved to be a financial burden on the two counties.

The Investment Fund

Westrum said the amount his jail was funded changed in 2008 when the state formed the Board of Corrections. In response to this loss in revenue, the board created an Investment Fund.

Taxpayers from all of the other counties pay into this fund to pick up the difference, according to jail staff. Regular news reports show that jails are often at odds as to how the funds are dispersed and officials are concerned about an ever-tightening budget.  

The debt service

Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties each still owe roughly $10 million in debt service, according to O'Connell. Lincoln County raises about $8.5 million in tax revenue, of which $2.4 million is paid to Two Bridges and $1 million goes to pay debt service each year.

So far, both counties have paid $6,702,738 in interest and $14,512,737 in principal and interest, according to Westrum. In his address to the committee, Westrum said. “We are not asking them (other counties and agencies) to share the burden of the debt, only the interest.”

LD 1320

The proposed bill essentially allows the counties to allocate the percentage of the interest on the debt owed proportional to the number of out-of-county inmates housed at the county jails, and to include this amount in the jail budget.

The legislation reads: “As long as the percentage of the population from outside of the county is more than 10 percent, the county may include a percentage of the interest associated with corrections debt that is equal to the percentage of inmates from outside the county in its budget to the State Board of Corrections.”

Sagadahoc County Administrator Pamela Hile gave an example of how this would work in her address to the committee. If Two Bridges averages 40 percent county and 60 percent non-county inmate populations, then 60 percent of the interest would be included in the jail budget.

“This is an issue of fairness and equity,” Hile said. “And the relief proposed under LD 1320 is done in a way that will have minimal impact on the system; allow TBRJ to continue to play a crucial role in supporting the consolidated system; and provide some assistance to the overburdened property owners in counties such as Lincoln and Sagadahoc.”