Acting corrections chief outlines programs, staffing shortfall and medical contract increase at budget hearing

Acting Corrections Commissioner Doug Burris told the Board of Aldermen’s Budget & Public Employees Committee on May 21 that the City Justice Center holds roughly 750 detainees and that the department has expanded education, treatment and reentry programming even as it faces staffing and contract cost pressures.

Burris said the jail population has risen about 40% in four years and remains around “750 to 800” people most of this year. At the hearing he emphasized the department’s shift toward programming: GED classes in partnership with St. Louis Public Schools, a vocational “Safe Serve” food-handling certification, an opioid intervention program and new partnerships for veterans’ services, reading programs and unlocked computer labs offering certification tracks.

Why it matters: the department says programming reduces recidivism and connects detainees to services on release, but operations are constrained by vacancies and rising medical costs.

Burris told the committee that one-quarter of detainees have been diagnosed with a serious psychiatric illness and are on medication, “1 in every 8 detainees are there charged with murder,” and “1 in every 12 detainees have been at the facility for more than 2 years.” He also cited individual cases to explain why staff changed the facility handbook language to call people “residents” or “detainees” rather than inmates.

On phone costs, Burris said the department implemented a change “due to a change in law” that reduced detainee phone rates from 23¢ per minute to 7¢ per minute; he said residents responded positively. He gave a recent weekly figure for food service — “this last week alone, we served over 18,000 meals in the jail.”

Budget and staffing: Burris presented a requested Division of Corrections budget of $31,883,738. He said almost the entire increase from the prior year was driven by a higher medical contract: “Previously, the contract was at 8,500,000.0. In this coming year, it's going to be 11,000,000, which is a 2 and a half million dollar increase.” He said the department proposed reducing funded positions from 150 to 133 because many posts are going unfilled, and that recruitment and forced overtime are ongoing problems.

Burris described several line-item changes proposed or received: educational training services in the budget fell in the proposal from $30,000 to $10,000; a requested $765,000 in personnel services (to support staff meals and other retention measures) was not allotted in the current proposal. He said the department is negotiating with outside recruiters (the Walls Group) to speed hiring and plans a recruitment “amnesty box” at intake modeled on the St. Charles County jail to reduce contraband.

Medical and operational clarifications: Mignon Frazier Faluque, Fiscal Operations Support Manager, told the committee the Department of Health provided a $1 million advance this fiscal year to cover medical costs after an updated contract with the jail’s medical provider was signed in February. Burris and staff noted the department expects next year’s budget to cover those costs without borrowing.

Capital and intake issues: Burris identified short-term repairs planned with the Facilities Department, including creating a wall in the intake area so people in intake have visual separation and bathroom access. He said the intake area contains two very large pods within a total of nine pods in the facility.

Operations and custody roles: Sheriff’s Office responsibilities were discussed. Tammy Ross, Deputy Commissioner, confirmed the sheriff’s office handles detainee transportation to court and that the jail serves primarily as the holding facility; Ross said the sheriff’s side stages and signs out detainees for court.

Programs and external partnerships: Burris described the mental health restoration program being developed with the Missouri Department of Health, which he said would bring state-paid staff into the jail and reimburse the jail roughly $90 per day for treated patients. He called the unlocked labs program — a computer-based education initiative already operating in several states — a national first for a county jail setting.

Discussion versus decisions: the committee did not take formal votes on corrections items during the hearing. Members asked for clarification of personnel and capital needs; Burris repeatedly emphasized personnel as the most critical unmet need.

Ending: Committee members expressed support and indicated they would follow up with written questions. Burris and staff said they would provide additional clarification on the medical contract and capital repair plans when requested.