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Dallas council delays payment approval, sends Lew Sterrett jail contract review to public safety committee
Summary
Council voted to remit the city’s annual $8.7 million payment to Dallas County for Lew Sterrett jail operations to the Public Safety Committee after weeks of negotiation and questions about performance measures, intake delays and interest penalties for late payment.
The Dallas City Council on Sept. 24 voted to send authorization for the city’s annual payment to Dallas County for housing city prisoners at the Lew Sterrett Criminal Justice Center to the council’s Public Safety Committee for further review.
Councilmember Kara Mendelson moved to send the contract amendment to committee, citing missing performance measures, unclear estimates and long-standing operational issues at the county jail; the motion passed on a recorded vote, 8-4, with two members absent.
The council item would authorize payments to Dallas County to process and maintain city prisoners for the period Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026, not to exceed $8,705,882. Staff said the contract amendment (Amendment No. 5) was approved in April 2022 but that some expected performance reporting and intake procedures have not been finalized between the city and county.
Mendelson told colleagues: “This is our jail contract. We…
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