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Community corrections director: county held flat on state grant but ankle-monitor costs still strain budget
Summary
La Porte County's community corrections received the same state allocation as last year but directors said ankle-monitor program fees are volatile; the office reported about 212 devices in use and daily user fees starting at $17, with the county cost per device roughly $9.76.
La Porte County’s community corrections office told the council on Wednesday that while the county avoided a state funding cut that affected many jurisdictions, local costs — particularly for ankle-monitor leases and service fees — remain unpredictable and pressure the budget.
The community corrections representative (S15) said the state Department of Corrections cut $7 million from the statewide community corrections budget, but La Porte County’s allocation for the program stayed level at $709,849.
When commissioners asked about maintenance contracts and a large lease-account line, S15 explained that the program budgets project income from fees but that fee revenue is hard to forecast. "Those are the fees that we can't anticipate because those are the fees that they pay," S15 said, describing a budgeting approach that blends project income with county support.
On participant charges and device counts, S15 said: "I think as of today, we might have 212" ankle monitors in use. The presenter described a tiered fee structure: base participant payments start near $17 per day (work-release about $15/day) while the county’s service cost per device is about $9.76 per day. Because project income can swing year to year, staff asked the council for flexibility in lease-account appropriations and for county supplemental funding if project income falls short.
Commissioners also discussed fee collection efforts and court practices that can affect collections. S15 said the office has improved collections substantially this year and that judges have agreed in some cases to apply bond funding to past-due monitor fees when appropriate. "We have gotten a lot better… our fee collection rate is a lot better," S15 said.
The council approved the twos and threes for the community corrections fund after motion and second; commissioners held grant items separate and asked staff to follow up on outstanding line-item questions.
Next steps: County staff will continue efforts to improve fee collection and return with any recommended budget adjustments or clarifications on project-income accounting for the ankle-monitor program.
