County Settles on Way to Pay for Bigger Jail

The county is finalizing plans for a 400-bed expansion of the Theo Lacy Branch Jail in Orange, the largest jail construction effort in a decade.

County officials said Monday that the expansion would mark a modest but important step toward easing jail overcrowding that resulted in the release last year of more than 30,000 inmates before they had completed their full jail terms.

“It’s not going to solve all our problems, but it will allow us to keep [more] criminals in custody rather than sending them back into the community,” Assistant Sheriff Doug Storm said.

Sheriff Brad Gates and County Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier expect to pay for the project largely with revenue from Proposition 172, a statewide half-cent sales tax that benefits law enforcement agencies.

Proposition 172 revenue has risen more than 20% in the last five years and is expected to hit a record high of $167 million next year as the Orange County economy recovers.

Officials plan to set aside future increases in Prop. 172 tax revenue for the jail project, along with $1.1 million in state funds and money the Sheriff’s Department has previously set aside.

The county is under a federal court order to avoid jail overcrowding, and Gates has been struggling since the late 1970s to find the money--and suitable locations--to build more detention facilities.

Officials had overcome neighborhood opposition in Orange and were ready to embark on a 1,600-bed expansion of Theo Lacy when the bankruptcy hit in 1994, placing the plans on hold.

Because its low credit rating on Wall Street would drive up the costs of borrowing, the county is unwilling to issue bonds to raise money for jail construction. So officials had to find another way to finance the construction.

“This is good news because we are able to add a significant number of beds without incurring more debt,” Board of Supervisors Chairman William G. Steiner said. “It’s long overdue and will prevent at least some inmates from being released onto the streets.”

The extra 400 beds would make a small dent in Orange County’s jail space gap. Its four jails were designed for 3,821 inmates but held an average of 5,197 last year. Moreover, the Sheriff’s Department estimates that it will need at least 5,000 new beds by 2006.

Storm stressed that the financing plan is still being developed and that the final cost of the project has yet to be determined. In 1992, the Sheriff’s Department estimated the construction costs of a 900-bed Theo Lacy expansion to be at least $10 million.

Mittermeier said Monday that she was “very optimistic” that the plan could be completed and brought to the Board of Supervisors before the 1997-98 budget is finally adopted in late September.

“This has been a top public safety priority for the board, so I will feel very good if we can accomplish this,” she said. “I think it shows that the county can live within its budget and sill dedicate resources to essential services to the public.”

The 400 jail beds would be built on existing Theo Lacy property in a “modular” design that allows a single deputy to view all inmates, Storm said.

Construction is expected to begin next year and would probably be completed in phases as money became available.

The Sheriff’s Department receives 80% of the county’s revenue from Proposition 172, with the district attorney’s office getting the remaining 20%.

If economic projections hold up, between $6 million and $7 million in additional Proposition 172 funds could be used for jail construction next year.

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Storm said the department hopes that the 400-bed expansion will be followed by additional construction projects that will eventually add the 1,600 beds the Board of Supervisors approved for Theo Lacy in 1994. The jail, located on The City Drive in Orange, now has 1,600 beds.

The county completed a 166-bed wing of the jail just before the bankruptcy. But money to operate the wing only became available in 1996.

In addition to Theo Lacy, Gates also wants to expand the James A. Musick Branch Jail in Irvine from a minimum-security facility to a maximum-security jail capable of holding up to 7,000 inmates. But nearby residents strongly oppose the expansion, and the cities of Lake Forest and Irvine are suing to block the proposal.

The city of Orange also sued to block the Theo Lacy expansion but eventually agreed to a compromise plan that sharply reduced the number of beds and provided the city with $10 million in financial incentives.

The county agreed to a variety of security measures including limits on the number of maximum-security inmates, extra patrols on visiting days and an agreement that high-risk inmates wouldn’t be released directly from the jail, Mayor Joanne Coontz said.

“I’m happy that we are finally getting this signed, sealed and delivered,” said Coontz, who negotiated the compromise along with Steiner and Gates. “We feel we have covered all the security issues. We are now just waiting for them to begin work on it.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Giving the Jail a Break

The county is considering a 400-bed expansion of the Theo Lacy Branch Jail. A closer look:

Opened: 1961

Location: The City Drive, Orange

Grounds: 11.4 acres, including barracks, modular housing, warehouse, laundry building, administrative building

Daily inmate population: 1,650

Felony inmates: 1,201

Misdemeanor inmates: 449

Sworn personnel: 175

Inmates/staff ratio: 9/1

Space Problems

Overcrowding at Orange County’s four jails resulted in early release of thousands of inmates last year, as the number by which total inmates exceeded capacity rose to a five-year high:

Average Daily Population

*--*

Exceeded Year Total Capacity capacity 1992 4,662 3,414 1,248 1993 4,694 3,613 1,081 1994 5,004 3,821 1,183 1995 5,123 3,821 1,302 1996 5,197 3,821 1,376

*--*

While two-thirds of the 67,887 inmate bookings into Orange County’s jails last year were for misdemeanors, the Sheriff’s Department projects that the 10,911 beds needed by 2006 will be split almost evenly between maximum and medium security:

1996 Bookings

Felony 33%

Misdemeanor 66

Other 1

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Beds Needed

Maximum security 45%

Medium security 42

Low security 13

Helping Hand

To help alleviate overcrowded jails, the Sheriff’s Department plans to use the increase in Proposition 172 money to aid in future jail construction. The county’s share of that statewide sales tax, which benefits law enforcement, has increased 22% since 1993-94:

1993-94: $130,811,000

1994-95: 139,926,000

1995-96: 151,903,000

1996-97: 159,021,000*

*Projected

Source: Orange County Sheriff’s Department; Researched by SHELBY GRAD / Los Angeles Times