Commissioners review DOC contract renewal as jail staffing and costs draw scrutiny

County staff presented a draft renewal of the Washington State Department of Corrections contract to the Mason County Board of Commissioners and said DOC has applied the statutory 3% annual rate increase allowed in the contract. Staff said DOC has resumed running hearings in the jail and the county has been accepting DOC violators and people on secretary's warrants. "By law, they can only increase 3% a year, and that's what they've done on the chart here," a staff member said. Commissioners pressed staff for more information about differential rates and the county's alternatives, including whether cancelling the contract and re-bidding would allow a higher rate or different provider. One commissioner asked staff to model the financial impact of cancelling the DOC contract and of continuing to place people with outside providers such as Nisqually, noting, "they pay less than what it costs us to outsource to Nisqually." Staff said the current contract may already be expired and that they would confirm contract status and any required notice periods. The discussion included operational context: staff reported the jail population and staffing levels during the exchange. "We brought a bunch of them back because our population dropped. So we're back down to 4 over there. And we've got 63 in the jail," the staff member said, and gave a staffing update that the department was short several positions with multiple applicants in background checks and several interviews scheduled. No formal motion or vote was recorded at the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to return with answers on contract timing, legal or procedural limits on cancelation, and the cost comparisons within several weeks before taking formal action. Staff also noted a clerical date error in briefing materials (contract dates listed in the briefing document) that will be corrected before execution.