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Correction director: new federal limits on jail phone and video fees will shrink county share; board to review contract options
Summary
The county correction director told the Board of Corrections that new national limits on phone and video visitation fees (effective April 1) reduce the county's share of revenue to a few cents per minute, prompting calls for staff to bring contract options back to the board for review.
The county correction director reported that a national regulation effective April 1 caps phone and video visitation fees for jails of this size and sharply reduces the county’s revenue share.
"For a jail our size...the most they can charge is 21¢ a minute for video and 13¢ a minute for phone," the correction director said. He said the county will receive about 2¢ per minute on regulated voice and video services, compared with a much larger bundled payment previously received.
Staff explained the provider sells data by the megabyte and that portion of the tablet service not regulated (messaging, games, other content) remains negotiable; the county may see higher percentages on unregulated services but must consider tradeoffs in allowing the vendor broader access to make the arrangement viable.
Commissioners expressed concern that a captive customer base yields revenue to private vendors while the county receives a small fraction. One commissioner suggested negotiating a site-access fee to host tablets in the jail as a way to offset reduced per-minute revenue.
The board directed staff to gather more information and bring the vendor contract and options back on the agenda for review before moving forward with expanded tablet offerings; no immediate contract changes were approved at the meeting.
