REDDING, Calif. — A Grand Jury report claims Assembly Bill 109 money was not used to alleviate Shasta County jail issues. The Jury is calling on the Board of Supervisors for answers.
The Grand Jury report, issued June 7, spotlights the lack of jail space and rehabilitative measures in Shasta County, despite an influx of AB 109 funds.
County Executive Officer for Shasta County, Larry Lees told KRCR it is premature to address the specific allegations. The board is also planning on responding with proof that AB 109 funds have gone towards public safety in Shasta County.
"I would say public safety is the number one priority of this Board of Supervisors, there's no question about that and the funding represents that," Lees affirmed.
The total allocation of AB 109 funds to Shasta County from 2011-2017 is $45.7 million. The report shows 90% of the funds were distributed to two departments, Shasta County Probation and the Sheriff's Office. Following those statistics, the report claimed the county failed to increase capacity at the Shasta County Jail or in the Work-Release Program, which currently assists 150 inmates, the same number as in 2008.
"I did read those claims also and those are some of the things, with the report being pretty fresh, those are some of the things we're going to be looking into and we will bring the data forward so that it won't be smoke and mirrors but it will actual data that supports exactly what we have been doing," Lees pointed out AB 109 funding is spent with direction from the Community Corrections Program not the Board of Supervisors. "They're the ones that are making the recommendation as far as how those dollars are allocated and they send that to the Board of Supervisors. All of their budget is included in that, so we're not leaving any particular segment. Everybody knows annually in that particular report and it's public meeting."
The CCP Executive Committee makes recommendations to the Shasta County Board of Supervisors about local implementation plans. Supervisors may reject those proposals or plans and they are in charge of overseeing and managing any approved plans.
However, the jury report charged AB 109 funds may have been used to replace or supplement current county public safety funding.
The report also claimed $39 million was spent without a standardized funding system to evaluate and approve funding requests. In it, two opportunities for state funding to increase jail space were said to have been turned down by the board due to the lack of operational funds.
"Had the County used General Funds to provide pre-AB 109 capacity, AB 109 funds of approximately $2 million would have been and would be available for operational costs of any expansion of the jail," the report claims the board has identified a lesser amount available for operational costs of jail expansion at $600,000 annually.
The county auditor has 60 days to respond to the grand jury report. Board members must respond within 90 days.
June 11, 2018
KRCR News Channel 7
By Courtney Kreider
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