Staff Writer
Government that is close to the people it regulates is more efficient and accountable, according to Aroostook County’s administrator speaking last week against the governor’s plan to consolidate county jails.
Speaking during the local Rotary club meeting, Douglas Beaulieu said that when government is near to the people, spending patterns can be monitored more closely.
“The further you drift away from local government, there’s less of a willingness to be accountable,” Beaulieu said to the Caribou group.
The Houlton jail employs a total of 35 people, with 28 of them working as guards. It is certified for 65 beds, but usually has about 75 inmates at any one time.
Gov. John E. Baldacci has proposed that administration of the county jails in the state be placed under the state Department of Corrections. Under this plan, four county jails would be closed. The remaining 11, including the Aroostook County jail in Houlton, would be run by the state.
Immediate savings have been estimated at $10 million. By 2015, as much as $38 million can be saved, according to published reports. In addition, another 300 beds could be added to the state prison inventory.
However, Beaulieu said that none of the savings have been substantiated. Data has been requested from the governor’s office, but none has been released, the county administrator said.
The state’s average cost per prisoner was cited by Beaulieu at $102 per day. Pooling all the jails together will put the daily cost per prisoner at $90, while the cost in Aroostook County is $75 a day, Beaulieu said.
Other concerns about the governor’s plan include some counties not having a lock-up facility. In those cases, prisoners may have to be transported to other counties for required services.
Salary schedules on the county and state levels are different, according to Beaulieu. Wages paid to Aroostook County jail employees are 20 percent less that the state system.
Another difference is the number of guards required by each set of standards, Beaulieu said. At the Houlton jail, there are 28 guards. During a tour of state officials regarding the proposed consolidation, Beaulieu said the state officials indicated that they would require 35 guards if the state was running the facility.
In a prepared statement distributed at the Rotary meeting, Beaulieu said that the state has implied that administration of county correctional facilities is inefficient and mismanaged.
