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Douglas County corrections director reports budget surplus, training injuries and $683,400 in pretrial savings
Summary
Director Michael Myers told commissioners the corrections department was $1.18 million under budget year‑to‑date, reported six minor training injuries from a new Tactical Athlete Program and said pretrial GPS monitoring saved an estimated $683,400 in detention costs in September.
Michael Myers, director of corrections for Douglas County, told the Board of Corrections on Oct. 28 that the department finished the third month of the fiscal year $1,180,795 under budget but expects upcoming projects to reduce that surplus. "Following the third month of the fiscal year, we are pleased to report that we are $1,180,795 under budget," Myers said.
Myers reported overtime costs of $366,241 in September and said 12 officers below the rank of sergeant left employment during the month for a mix of reasons; 16 new officers began the training academy on Oct. 14. He said staffing among correctional officer ranks was about 99% as of Sept. 30. "We did have a high month for attrition in September as 12 officers below the rank of sergeant left employment," Myers said.
The director described a range of programming and operational metrics: the sanction center and transitional discharge center placed 21 people into community corrections, saving 109 combined jail bed days; work release and house arrest admitted individuals; and the Reentry Assistance Program admitted 23 people. Myers said 532 people participated in a sobriety program and 181 were supervised via GPS monitors, "saving 4,020 bed days theoretically." He estimated that pretrial release saved Douglas County about $683,400 in detention costs in September.
Myers discussed medical and mental‑health activity, reporting 423 health assessments, 148 initial psychiatric assessments, 119 individuals placed on suicide precautions and referrals to the Lincoln Regional Center. He also said the county is scheduled for PREA and other correctional‑standards audits in coming months.
Myers described a department‑wide shift to a Tactical Athlete Program (TAP) for staff training, which he called a safer, more holistic model that de‑emphasizes pain compliance. The county recorded six staff injuries related to the four‑day TAP training; Myers characterized the injuries as mostly minor and said no one missed work. "It was a a grueling 4 days, and I can tell you, I was awfully glad when it was done," Myers said, and he explained that the training necessarily involves live physical practice.
Commissioners pressed for more data. Commissioner Kavanaugh and others asked for clearer revenue summaries and for a look‑back period to compare monthly and seasonal trends; Myers said some charts are set up as rolling 12‑month tracks and that the new pretrial software (which went live Oct. 14) will allow better integration with court systems and more robust reporting. On house‑arrest fees, Myers said individuals typically pay vendors for GPS and alcohol monitoring and that indigent defendants are not required to pay.
Myers said the county reduced 11 FTEs via attrition and operational changes enabled by technology (for example, tablets and more affordable remote visitation). He said he will request additional staff to operate a planned mental‑health addition and that the department plans periodic, deeper reporting on the pretrial program as the new vendor integrations provide more reliable data.
The Board of Corrections took no formal action on the report; the board adjourned the corrections session after a brief public comment request and a request for a construction project management chart from a resident.
