Resident asks county to investigate jail phone and video fees, cites profit from communications contractor ViaPath
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Summary
During public comment a resident urged Kalamazoo County to investigate and stop profiting from incarcerated people's phone and video calls, singling out contractor ViaPath and several user fees that burden families.
At the Nov. 5 Committee of the Whole public-comment period, resident Barb Van Esseltine urged the county to investigate fees charged to incarcerated people and their families for phone and video calls. Van Esseltine described multiple fees charged by the contractor ViaPath — account-opening fees, calling fees for persons without accounts, deposit fees and account-closure fees — and said those charges amount to “profit we make from jailed persons, their loved ones, and their families.”
“I do not believe that Kalamazoo County should profit from communications between jailed persons and their families and loved ones,” Van Esseltine said, and asked the board to investigate and remedy the situation. She asked commissioners to consider at minimum reducing county take or moving to a cost-recovery model.
The board received the comment; no formal motion or staff report was presented during the meeting. Commissioners did not refer the matter to a specific committee on Nov. 5, but the topic was raised publicly for county staff follow-up.
