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Community corrections asks county to cover building costs after state grant cuts
Summary
Community corrections officials told the DeKalb County Council that state Department of Corrections grant cuts reduced their local award by about 35%, and asked the county to assume building operating costs and consider fee and commissary revenue to close a projected $120,000 shortfall through 2027.
Michelle, a community corrections program representative, told the council the Department of Corrections "has had some funding cuts this year" and that the local grant award was reduced by roughly 35%, about $11 million less distributed statewide. She said the state appears to have applied an older formula rather than recent performance measures to allocate funds.
The program has reworked its 2027 request to identify immediate savings and new revenue. Michelle said staff have already approved a vendor change to reduce GPS/anklet costs and are collecting participant wage data to consider changing the daily fee charged for home detention. "When we switch over, that'll be a cost savings for us," she said.
To close the shortfall through 2027, Michelle asked the county to take on building operating expenses for the community corrections facility — utilities, insurance and multi‑year HVAC/maintenance contracts. She said shifting those costs to county general would reduce the local shortfall from roughly $375,000 to about $120,000; she provided handouts itemizing contracts and recurring bills.
Michelle also described a new statutory option, effective July 1, that would allow the program to run a commissary through the auditor’s claim system to generate project income for rehabilitation programming. She noted the advisory board is analyzing fee structures and would present recommendations in September.
Council members said the program’s work reduces jail costs and argued county support for the building would be appropriate. One council speaker noted the residential program has 52 beds and that community corrections helped lower the county jail average from earlier highs.
The council did not take a formal vote. Officials said they would consider Michelle’s handouts and the budget revisions as they review county general and project‑income options ahead of the next full council meeting.
