Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Juvenile Justice topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners debate shared juvenile facility costs as counties sell slots out of state
Summary
Teton County is among five counties sharing a juvenile facility; commissioners discussed rising per-county costs, the practice of selling unused slots to out-of-state jurisdictions and whether to opt out of the shared arrangement.
Commissioners heard staff explain that Teton County participates in a five-county juvenile facility that apportions costs among the partner counties. Staff said the five counties together do not always send enough youth to fill the facility and that facility managers have sold unused slots to out-of-state jurisdictions, generating revenue that has in part offset county contributions.
The county’s share was described as approximately $119,000 in one line item, and commissioners noted the difficulty of paying for a shared fixed-cost model when usage fluctuates. Commissioners discussed whether to explore opting out of the multi-county arrangement and noted the administrative and practical consequences of doing so; they also noted recent management changes (the administering county shifting to Madison County) have reduced the per-county cost, but that the arrangement remains a material budget item.
No formal decision to withdraw from the multi-county juvenile facility was made; commissioners said the topic would merit further discussion and that staff or a commissioner representative would follow up with the joint-facility board if desired.
