Grand Forks County forms study committee on jail consolidation, approves lease talks with state for behavioral-health beds

Grand Forks County commissioners voted on Jan. 7 to form a committee to study whether the county’s correctional facility should be consolidated under the sheriff’s office and to open lease negotiations with the State Department of Corrections for use of the expanded portion of the Grand Forks County Correctional Center as a behavioral-health facility.

The board approved creation of a study committee, to be convened and named by Commissioner Ruston, to investigate consolidation, legal issues and transition logistics. That motion passed unanimously. Separately, the commission authorized the county to enter lease negotiations with the state for the expanded portion of the correctional center to provide chemical- and mental-health services; that motion passed on a 3–2 vote.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the county faces long-term budget pressures tied to the expanded portion of the jail — both bond payments and recurring staffing costs — and needs options to reduce operating costs while meeting local needs for behavioral-health treatment. Supporters argued leasing the expanded space to the state could generate steady lease revenue and place behavioral-health services locally; opponents said the county needs a formal cost analysis and clear legal authority before changing organizational control of the jail.

Discussion and legal background

A commissioner who proposed the consolidation said the county could realize staffing and operational efficiencies by placing the jail under the sheriff’s office and indicated an advisory committee would be needed to guide any transition. Other commissioners urged a fiscal assessment before further action. One commissioner said the county previously budgeted a large loss for the correctional facility and said a guaranteed lease payment would help stabilize finances; the transcript included a reference that the jail had been budgeted for a significant shortfall in the prior year.

County legal counsel presented a historical review of the law, telling the board it was not a new idea for the sheriff to have jail duties. The attorney summarized prior attorney-general opinions and legislative changes: an attorney-general opinion in 1983 supported the county’s prior arrangement, and a later 2005 opinion and subsequent legislative amendments narrowed the authority that earlier opinions relied upon. The counsel said a statutory process known informally in the discussion as the “tool chest” may or may not apply to the appointed jail administrator position; that uncertainty is one reason the commissioners opted to study the matter further.

The board’s motions and next steps

- Committee to study consolidation: approved unanimously. Commissioners directed Commissioner Ruston to return with names for the committee and a proposed scope for the study.

- Lease negotiations with State Department of Corrections (DOCR): approved 3–2. The board authorized county staff and negotiators to begin discussions with DOCR about leasing the expanded portion of the Grand Forks County Correctional Center for behavioral-health services.

No final consolidation or transfer of authority was ordered at the Jan. 7 meeting; instead the board established the committee and authorized negotiation steps for the building’s use. Commissioners directed county staff and legal counsel to continue research and to report back to the commission. The committee is expected to return with recommendations and any proposed legal or statutory steps required for consolidation or other structural changes.