Officials flag rising jail food, safekeeping and medical costs; facilities projects discussed

County staff and other participants told colleagues that corrections-related expenses are up and that several facility projects and reserves may be necessary. "Food, that's a that's a big 1. That's a big increase there, and I expect our numbers are gonna be up from where they were. That's where I came up with that number. Safekeeping on prisoners. I bumped that up," one participant said, noting a history of going over budget for those items. Staff said medical-related costs appear higher than in prior years and that some budget lines only began in recent years, which affects year-over-year comparisons. "If you remember, we didn't start that budget until, like..." a staff member said when explaining an increase in medical statistics. Participants also discussed facilities projects, including a chiller replacement and a building- or improvement-reserve line. One participant said the chiller project “could easily be the same contractor” and discussed security-level and contractor considerations. In the justice budget discussion, staff referred to CASA and JDAI programs and to mental-health spending; presenters said they did not make changes to the justice totals during the excerpt provided. No motions or votes on jail spending, facility projects, or justice-program allocations are recorded in the supplied transcript; participants discussed adjustments and asked for further review of estimates and prorations. Less-critical details noted in the transcript include travel by Judge Lee and that some salary prorations may be hard-coded or formula-driven, which staff said they would verify.