Governor backs off plan to cut funding for county jails

The 2005 state budget included a provision to reduce payments to counties to $16 from $32 for each state prisoner held above a local jail’s certified capacity.

David Seivers, executive director of the Tennessee County Services Association, said the governor called him Monday to say he had changed his mind.

“He said he understood the effect the cuts would have on local governments and that he was going to restore those funds back into his budget,” Seivers said. “He’s been gracious over the last couple weeks and I thanked him for that.”

State officials said the proposed cut was reasonable because overflow prisoners only add marginal costs to local jails.

But county officials opposed the plan. The governor pledged to re-examine the cuts, saying they would disproportionately target Hamilton and Davidson counties.

A spokeswoman for Bredesen said Monday he is still concerned about jail crowding.

“Still, he’s equally concerned about the level of funding local governments need for these critical services,” Lydia Lenker said.

The governor and Department of Correction Commissioner Quenton White are now reviewing other possible cuts in the correction budget, she said.

The governor’s budget will reflect the changes when it is discussed by the Legislature this month, Lenker said.

Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey, notified of the governor’s decision Monday, said the proposed cuts would have been devastating.

“I appreciate the governor taking them off the table,” Ramsey said. “We’re strapped here in dealing with jails and prisoners. We’ve been doing the best we could.”

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Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://www.timesfreepress.com