Community Justice director details biennial plan shortfall, proposes fee increases and behavioral health funding

Larry Evanson, Columbia Countys community justice director, presented the departments biennial state plan and a set of fee changes and program proposals at the Aug. 27 board meeting, saying state funding leaves the county short of the actual cost to provide required services.

Evanson said community corrections funding is calculated as a per‑day payment for people on supervision and that Columbia Countys share of the state population under supervision rose slightly to 1.28 percent. He said the statewide community corrections budget was approximately $279 million for the biennium and that Columbia County will receive roughly $3.5 million over the two‑year period. That figure, he said, is lower than the cost recommended in a statewide cost study; the countys gap from the study is about $760,000…