Guest column by Hamilton County Commission President Todd Portune.

David Pepper and I have been attempting to inform as many groups and citizens as we can about the Comprehensive County Safety Plan that he and I have authored.  This is not simply a Jail proposal or anything close to it.  It is a major reformation to the criminal justice system in the county and the funding to support that reformation for a thirty (30) year time frame.

There is much that is misunderstood about the program.  They chief elements we are hearing from Progressives at our Public Hearings and via e-mail, letters and phone calls are these:

Jails are not a substitute for treatment centers;

We need treatment, not more jail space;

If we quit putting people in jail who should not be there in the first place, we would not need a new facility; and

We do not need to raise taxes to pay for any of this.

Please allow me an opportunity to briefly address each of these points.

Jails are not a substitute for treatment centers.

We agree.  Having said that we still need to build this consolidated facility.  Our current system relies on five separate facilities - four of which provide no legitimate opportunity to introduce any kind of appropriate jail based services, and there are some that are appropriate for those individuals who need to be in a jail.  Regardless of whether we add a single bed we cannot continue the status quo of using these four facilities.  Several are literally crumbling around us.  Butler County is not a long range option because of the expense - we will run out of money to pay for it by the end of the year.  These facilities are inadequate, contain no medical beds, and present inhumane, unjust facilities to house inmates that pose safety hazards to inmates and corrections officers alike.  Whatever we build must be built according to Ohio standards as our current system includes facilities that are not.  And as we build and consolidate we are building for a 30 year projection. Our approach contains a number of total system-wide beds that is 1000 less than what many experts have projected for 30 years out.  We believe the treatment and other approaches will be successful in reducing the long term need for that many beds.

We need treatment, not more jail space.

We agree we need treatment.  More of it and more effective use of what we already provide.  Our plan provides for much more and guarantees the funding of it for thirty years.  We believe we will be successful which is why we are building 1000 fewer beds than experts project we’ll need thirty years out.  We are providing for an expansion now but also believe that if we are more successful in diverting people away from crime, and in reducing recidivism by having successfully treated people that we will have an abundance of beds that can be rented out to reduce the taxpayer cost.  The permanent establishment of the Criminal Justice Commission will ensure civilian oversight aimed at emphasizing treatment over warehousing and on providing efficient, effective best practices throughout the life of the program.

If we quit putting people in jail who should not be there in the first place, we would not need a new facility.

We need a new facility.  The four facilities in use beyond the justice center house as many as 1400 additional inmates a day.  There are not that many people in jail on any given day who do not belong there even if some do not.  We still need to build a consolidated facility to meet Ohio standards.  Consolidation also eliminates over $4.3 million of waste per year in inefficiencies.

But here is one other fact everyone must understand.  We have no choice in the matter.  We do not sentence a single person - the judges do and in Hamilton County the judges have demonstrated a certain approach to crime and sentencing that we may not agree with but have no control over.  By law, in Ohio, we as Commissioners are required to provide an adequate bed-space for every inmate sent our way by the judges of Hamilton County built according to Ohio standards.  If we do not we are derelict in our duty and can either be impeached, or sued by either the Sheriff or the Courts to provide the space.  Our Sheriff has already threatened such.  And if this goes to the ballot and were to lose I have no doubt that the Sheriff will sue to get the facility if we did not just go ahead and fund the facility anyway. 

I wish things were different.  I wish Commissioners twelve years ago had dealt with priorities like this rather than dealing with luxuries like stadiums.  But they did not.  The Republican leadership before us either punted on the issue or did absolutely nothing.  David and I are acting responsibly in deciding to solve this problem once and for all.  But as we do it we are doing so on our terms with an emphasis on providing the kinds of programs and services and funding them for the long haul to reform the system.

We do not need to raise taxes to pay for any of this.

That is simply not true.  There is no money in the county General Fund for this.  We just cut 88 jobs from the county payroll to balance our budget.  Over 90% of our budget is for state mandated services and of the remaining $22 Million or so of spending about three fourths of it is for debts service and utilities that we cannot default upon.  The remainder is wholly inadequate.

Pat DeWine has recently criticized this by saying it is about two and a half times as expensive as what was on the ballot in the fall.  Again, not a true statement because the plan on in the fall failed to fund a penny of operations or a penny of treatment - both critically necessary and the more expensive elements of the plan.  We are funding everything, and doing so in ways that save almost $700 million over the life of the program.  Our approach is fiscally conservative; fails top waste tax dollars and provides a major return of money to local jurisdictions that they can invest in safety enhancements as they deem appropriate in order to better prevent fires, fight crime or respond to medical emergencies.

The time is approaching when debate and deliberation will end and we will take action.  We have one more public hearing scheduled and that is for this coming Wednesday night, May 23, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. at the Sharonville Convention Center.  On tap for a decision that night is whether we will attempt to place the issue on a ballot at a Special Election in August.  If not then, we will have to confront the choice of either placing the matter on the ballot in November or later, or to simply use the authority we have to enact the tax ourselves.  We will also decide whether to make any final changes to the plan based upon the insight gained from our public hearings.  I can think of two things already:  1) we need to develop a civilian intervention process that will permit a quick resolution of inmate complaints regarding treatment, lack of access to meds and other items of a similar nature that demand some outside oversight with authority to intervene if need be; and 2) we must develop a compact with local shelter and transient housing providers that can allow for the oft-named “Homeless Crimes” to result in transfer to a Service Provider as opposed to jail for those kinds of crimes alone.  Not every homeless individual who is arrested is arrested solely for a “homeless crime”, but when they are we agree that jail is not the right place for them.

We have a chance to truly change Hamilton County for the better and to guarantee providing long awaited treatment and other services for a generation.  We need to do this now and I hope you will agree.

Respectfully,

Todd Portune
President, Hamilton County Commission

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