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New jail administrator reports lower out-of-county housing costs, in-house population at 80% capacity
Summary
Marathon County's new jail administrator reported May 6 that in-house population has risen to 223 (about 80% capacity), the county narrowed out-of-county contracts to Taylor and Waupaca counties to reduce per-inmate costs, and juvenile secured-detention revenue was nearly $96,000 for April.
Lucas Bolden, Marathon County's new jail administrator, told the Public Safety Committee May 6 that the county has reduced reliance on distant contract beds and increased its in-house population to levels recommended by state guidance.
Bolden said the county's detention facility has a maximum capacity of 279 beds but that staffing previously required administrators to limit in-house population to about 180 inmates. He reported that in-house population had increased to 223 inmates, which the state Office of Detention Facilities considers roughly 80% capacity. "We are now, as of today, 223 inmates in house," Bolden said.
Bolden described efforts to manage out-of-county housing costs and logistics: county contracts with several distant counties were narrowed to two — Taylor County and Waupaca County — because Waupaca offered a lower per-inmate daily rate than some prior contracts. He said Lincoln County had charged about $18 more per inmate per day than Waupaca, and that the county's negotiators expect the change to reduce annual costs materially. Chief Deputy Bill (surname not provided) told the committee the savings for 40 contracted beds is about $262,000 a year.
Bolden also reported revenue from the juvenile secured-detention facility: about $96,000 for April, and said the county is pursuing additional inter-county placements to make that program sustainable. The administrator said total population including inmates on electronic monitoring across county and contracted placements is "just around 300." He attributed past population peaks and longer average stays to court-related delays such as competency determinations and strains on public defender resources.
Committee members asked whether federal funds help operating costs; Bolden and other staff said federal funding for jail operations is limited, with opioid-settlement grant dollars being a primary federal-related source used to support substance-use treatment programs in jail.
The committee did not take formal action; members thanked Bolden for his work on contracts and vendor negotiations.
