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Douglas County Corrections asks for $2.2 million over target, cites medical, staffing and technology costs
Summary
Director Mike Myers told commissioners the corrections budget for FY25-26 is projected at $68,040,000, $2.2 million above the county target. The increase is driven by a contracted medical cost rise, food-service improvements, additional staff and technology upgrades including Wi-Fi, phone replacements and contraband-detection upgrades; Myers also
Douglas County Corrections Director Mike Myers told the Board of Commissioners on June 10 that the department's FY2025-26 request totals roughly $68.04 million, a $2.2 million increase above the county target. The office said the over-target request would address rising medical contract costs, program needs and capital upgrades at the correctional center.
Myers told the board the department is a 24/7 operation that currently houses more than 1,100 people at times and that personnel costs account for roughly two-thirds of the corrections budget. Contracted services ' primarily inmate medical and mental-health care ' will increase under a vendor contract with a 6% price rise beginning Sept. 1, which Myers estimated would add approximately $714,000. Separately, Corrections proposed improving inmate meal quality and portions; implementing one-half year of that change would add roughly $164,000.
Personnel costs include projected salary and longevity for staff and overtime. Myers proposed adding targeted positions to expand educational and vocational programming (one vocational/education specialist), five sergeant positions to staff a 24/7 security checkpoint (budgeted for half a year), one classification officer, and 12 correctional officers to reduce overtime reliance. Myers said the additions would cost approximately $355,811 in new personnel-related items and that adding positions could be less expensive than paying equivalent overtime.
Myers also requested approximately $400,000 for technology projects: modernization of aging Wi-Fi infrastructure and replacement of inmate phones. The department said its on-site laundry expansion could require roughly $168,000 in equipment and produce an annual operational savings of about $100,000 versus contracted off-site laundry. Myers discussed contraband and opioid risks and noted interest in noninvasive detection tools and mobile drug detection devices; those items might be pursued with opioid settlement funds rather than general fund dollars.
Corrections leadership emphasized steps it said were already reducing custody numbers, including expanded alternatives to detention, GPS supervision programs and community-based supervision. Despite some recent reductions earlier in the year, Myers said admissions have climbed during 2025 and warned that housing needs and operational costs have trended up.
Commissioners pressed for clarifications about average daily population trends, overtime calculations and the financial effects of outside holds (for example, city or federal holds). Myers said the interlocal rate for housing City of Omaha inmates is under negotiation and that the U.S. Marshals Service contract also will be subject to renegotiation.
Ending: The board asked Corrections for additional data on admissions, average daily population and overtime history before final budget votes. No budget decisions were made June 10; the board will act later this summer on the overall county budget.
