County Legislator Kathy Konst
wants to see county dollars freed from housing parole violators awaiting transfer to state facilities. Therefore, she is sponsoring a
resolution that would take fiscal responsibility away from the county and put
it in the hands of the state, where she says it belongs.
With a cost of well over $100 per day to house an inmate, the
state reimburses $37.60, compared to $40 per day pre August 2008. Konst warns that the state is planning
to eliminate their share entirely, as outlined in Governor Paterson’s 2009-2010
Executive Budget proposal.
According
to a statement by Konst: Every county jail in New York State is required to
house state parole violators, including those held on technical charges, and
parole violators who have become “State ready” and are awaiting transfer to a
state correctional facility. The average length of stay for these parole
violators in a county facility is approximately 60 days and can be as much as
120 days before a final revocation hearing.
The
State of New York must enact legislation to allow parolees awaiting a parole
violation hearing to be incarcerated at a state correctional facility in or
near the county where the alleged parole violation occurred, rather than in a
county facility.
Until
such time as a parolee awaiting a parole violation hearing is held at a state
correctional facility, Erie County and every other county in New York State
should be entitled to reasonable compensation for housing such alleged parole
violators, at a sum equal to the actual cost of confinement, including actual
medical expenses incurred by the counties.
Saying that the expense is unfair to Erie County taxpayers,
Kons’s resolution, asking the state to relieve Erie County and other counties of this onerous and costly mandate, will be taken up by the full County Legislature on
March 12th .
Konst’s resolution also requests that the Division of Parole and
the Department of Correctional Services further collaborate with counties to
reduce the number of days that parole violators are held in county jails.
Konst
concludes: This is simply a matter of fairness to county governments and
their taxpayers. It’s black and white. I am hopeful that the
Governor and the State Legislature will recognize and reverse the unfairness of
the current reimbursement mechanism.