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Detention center official asks for advance appropriations, flags $2.9M elevator replacement and $920K shower upgrades
Summary
At a July 9 post‑evaluation meeting, a DuPont County Detention Center representative requested advance appropriations to ease cash‑flow delays and outlined urgent capital needs: replacing three obsolete elevators (estimated $2,914,106) and installing unbreakable shower panels and new flooring (about $920,400).
At a July 9, 2026 meeting of the post‑evaluation team, an agency official from the DuPont County Detention Center asked the group to consider advance appropriations to ease a recurring cash‑flow problem that prevents staff from entering requisitions until funds are approved by the trust.
"It's a cash flow issue," the agency official said, explaining that invoices are entered early in the month but payments can be delayed until after the trust meeting, sometimes into the third week, which blocks routine purchasing and payment processing.
The official also presented two capital cost estimates the facility has on its watch list. Replacing all three obsolete elevators was estimated at $2,914,106, and a separate package to install unbreakable shower panels and epoxy flooring was quoted at about $920,400. "Elevator 1 is down because the control panel was fried," the official said, and added that parts for the existing systems are no longer made.
Chair responded that those larger capital requests should be routed through the infrastructure committee so that committee members can evaluate scope, timing and potential funding sources before bringing a funding recommendation back to the board. The Chair suggested the detention center staff coordinate with Christine (the staff contact) and said the group could call a special meeting if the committee deems the issue urgent.
Agency staff also described operational details that bear on budgeting: the detention center reported roughly 345 employees in its headcount, including about 60 medical staff, and said an August academy aims to add 35–40 recruits. Staff acknowledged outstanding end‑of‑June payroll and invoice figures that will determine FY '26 carryover amounts; an initial figure of $40,000 was mentioned as a carried amount reported in the estimate submitted to the trust.
The agency agreed to provide the board's finance committee with monthly budget‑to‑actual spreadsheets and a staffing breakdown (detention officers, medical staff, part‑time versus full‑time) beginning next month, at the committee's request.
The meeting record shows no formal vote on funding for the capital items; the Chair directed staff to pursue infrastructure committee review and to return with scope, cost detail and a formal agenda item if funding is requested.
