The Monroe County Council and Board of Commissioners will hold a special joint-session to discuss the state of the new jail project.
Monroe County is under a federal order to address overcrowding at its jail, which is part of a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana. However, funding for the project is paused due to a new local income tax debt limit enforced by Senate Enrolled Act 1, which became law July 1.
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During the council’s July 8 meeting, county commissioners presented a draft letter for state lawmakers.
The letter urges the next session of the state legislature to consider amending state law to allow Monroe County to issue debts that can fund the estimated $225 million jail project.
Councilmembers were hesitant to support the letter and favored waiting on updated county financial numbers so that they could present a stronger, more fact-based letter to lawmakers.
Jennifer Crossley, president of the county council, repeated that stance Tuesday night.
“My concern and thinking about this letter is, could we be putting something out into the universe prematurely before we know what is happening with the numbers.” Crossley said.
Julie Thomas, president of the board of commissioners, agreed that numbers are important but the idea behind the letter is to address state law as a whole.
“You want to have numbers, but I think we may want to be more general about the problem with the legislation versus here's how we're going to attack it, here's our numbers,” Thomas said.
Both bodies agreed to remove language from the draft letter that gave state lawmakers legislative options, instead putting the solution decision in the legislature’s hands. Both sides also stressed the importance of including other county advisors and leaders in the letter-drafting process, including the sheriff’s office and judges.
The joint-session will take place within the next 30 days.
Thomas expressed interest in getting a finalized version ready for a vote by the council’s Aug. 12 regular meeting.
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During the public comment period held at the beginning of Tuesday night’s meeting, several speakers voiced opposition to a new jail altogether.
Opponents voiced support for renovating the current jail to meet bed requirements, claiming an expansion is unnecessary, a waste of resources, and a danger to inmates.
Ken Falk, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, originally sued the county in 2008 due to overcrowding. Falk said during Tuesday night’s meeting that the current jail cannot be renovated, and a new jail is the ideal solution.
“It's been almost 20 years since we filed our litigation,” Falk said. “It's been almost 20 years since everyone agreed that the conditions in the jail violated the Eighth Amendment. This jail is way past its useful life.”
Micol Seigel is a history professor at Indiana University and member of Care Not Cages, a local nonprofit created after the ACLU’s 2008 suit.
Seigel said Falk mischaracterizes the need for a new jail. She said studies commissioned by the county show expansion is not the only option.
“Ken Falk, I don't know you, but I hope that someday you equally come to rue the day you spearheaded so much jail building in Indiana,” she said. “Shame on your extrapolation of facts…far beyond the legal sphere.”
The county’s Long-Term Finance Committee will hold a meeting Friday, Aug. 1. The committee is expected to analyze updated financial numbers for the county, which is also expected to impact the final version of the jail letter.