Editor's note: This is the second in a series of articles on recent developments in the debate over whether to build a new jail in Grayson County, where it should be built and whether it should be built and run by Grayson County or a private firm.

BY JERRIE WHITELY

HERALD DEMOCRAT

Last week, Grayson County Sheriff Keith Gary and County Judge Drue Bynum reacted in opposite directions to a call for the sheriff not to sign off on a private contract to build and operate a county jail. Other commissioners responded to questions about their position on whether to contract with another private company to send Grayson inmates to Fannin County.

The call for the sheriff to withhold his approval of the contract came from the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas. The debate over private versus public operation of the jail began more than two years ago. Since that beginning, the sheriff and commissioners have said that the sheriff would have to approve any contract and would be charged constitutionally with the proper running of the jail. Asked his reaction to CLEAT's call Thursday, Bynum said it's not really up to the sheriff to approve the contract. He said if the Grayson County Commissioners Court approved the contract, the sheriff would "have to right to sue the commissioners court."

Gary said that he feels duty bound to ensure that his current employees are treated fairly. At least as important, Gary said, is to keep an adequate number of jail-related staff to ensure safety -- both of the inmates and of the public. Regardless of where most of the inmates are kept, the sheriff is still legally responsible to see that their transportation to and from court and their appearances in court are safely conducted, Gary said. He said county workers also have clerical duties to prepare prisoner packets for those found guilty. They would still have to book-in prisoners and have a contract with the federal government for 35 beds a day through 2011.

All four commissioners, the sheriff and the county judge discussed several variations of a plan to move some or most inmates to Fannin County's new privately run jail. The plans ranged from temporarily housing inmates there while the current jail is refurbished and expanded to housing all inmates in Fannin County except for those who needed to be in court the next day.

At least two of the four commissioners would have to agree with Bynum's notion to move prisoners to Fannin County. And that plan too might require the sheriff to be in agreement. All four commissioners were asked if they would be willing to approve such a measure. They were also asked about what they see as possible other solutions to the problem.

Each commissioner stressed that they don't want to see an impasse develop between the commissioners and the sheriff and they are confident that it won't. They also each said they do support using the private jail in Fannin County for some length of time while other solutions are sought.

Commissioner Gene Short is the longest serving member on the court and one who has said he is not seeking re-election. He said he hasn't made up his mind about the jail issue one way or the other yet. He said he might be in favor of transferring Grayson inmates to Fannin County for a brief time. That time would allow the county to remodel the one downtown or build on to it.

"I would not be in favor of it long term," Short said. "We can't afford that. The cost per inmate would be higher than what we are paying now," Short said.

Short said for the short term, inmates could be brought back into the county to go to court.

However, Short said he favors going forward with the proposed plan with Southwestern Correctional. But that is only possible, he said, with concessions from Sheriff Gary.

"In my opinion, if we go with Southwestern we have got to get that per diem down to $35 to $36 per day per inmate. The only way to do that is to allow (Southwestern) to go with market value for their jailers," Short said. That would mean a cut in pay for jail workers.

In their last jail-related meeting, commissioners and Southwestern seemed all but agreed on keeping jail workers' salaries at their current level. The stumbling point seemed to be the number of people Gary wanted to keep on his staff for court security; more than commissioners said is necessary.

Gary said he wants only essential staff, and most will be trained to do a number of jobs for efficiency.

Commissioner Johnny Waldrip, a former Texas Ranger and once Gary's second in command at the county jail, said he is baffled at Gary's opposition to the idea of a private jail.

"He was the one who changed my mind," Waldrip said, noting that he once opposed the private jail.

However, Waldrip said, that lawsuits have caused private jail operators to change their methods. Now he is confident that a private jail would not lead to problems for the county. And, he restated, how puzzled he is by Gary's stance.

"This was his baby," Waldrip said.

For his part, Gary said the issue of pay for jailers is just part of his objection to the current plan.

He said he is also concerned about the likelihood that lower-paid jailers hired by the private operators would be as qualified to keep inmates in the jail, keep peace in the jail and maintain a safe environment in the Justice Center.

Waldrip said Gary hasn't had any problem with jailers from a private company working in his jail for the several years that he has used contract jailers.

If the county is unable to agree on a deal with Southwestern, Waldrip said, the need to move county inmates to the jail in Bonham wouldn't have to be a permanent solution.

"The sheriff goes out of office in three years and we could just tread water until then," Waldrip said. Asked about his rumored intention to seek the office Gary now holds, Waldrip paused for a beat and then said he thinks the idea of a private jail looks right for the county from both a commissioner's and a sheriff's point of view.

Commissioner David Whitlock also said he doesn't understand Gary's change of heart.

"We were trying to keep the current rate of pay for his people," Whitlock said adding that it was his understanding that all of Gary's jailers would be hired on by the private jail at their current rate of pay and benefits.

"But now he is changing horses. The position he has put us in right now, the easiest solution is just to send them to Bonham," Whitlock said.

He acknowledged that such a solution would likely result in a loss of jobs for part of the staff of current jailers.

"That is not a good thing to say (politically speaking) but it is the dang-blame truth," Whitlock said. When asked if he understands why people would be upset at the prospect of losing their jobs, Whitlock said he does understand. "But Grayson County is a business and a big business and we are having to pay for that business."

Whitlock said he is on record as declaring that the Texas Commission on Jail Standards is behind most of the problem. He contends that if the county were allowed to run the jail as it sees fit rather than having to keep up with rules set by TCJS, overcrowding might not be an issue.

Like Short, Whitlock said he is not opposed to looking at remodeling or adding on to the jail downtown, but he stopped looking at that possibility because of the things Gary said about it.

"He kept bringing us people who said it wasn't worth fixing," Whitlock added.

Short was the only commissioner to say he has crunched some preliminary numbers to try to figure out what it would cost, in today's market, to build in downtown. He said the price the county has been quoted to build a 721-bed jail is right at $35 million (not in downtown.) Divided out that comes to between $40,000 and $45,000 per bed. He said commissioners could use that figure to come up with the cost to build on downtown. However, Short added, the cost of land would have to be included in a total price.

Waldrip said there is more than one type of price for building downtown. One, he said, is financial and the other is a bit harder to quantify.
"I will tell you flat out 100 percent I will not participate in taking someone's home away from them to build a jail," Waldrip said.

Commissioner Jackie Crisp said he doesn't favor laying anyone off if the court decides to use the Fannin County private jail option, but he said that probably won't be necessary.

"The Sheriff said he has about 20 people who have been here less than a year and that he has a high turnover rate," Crisp said. He said the county could just not replace people when they leave and reach the desired number of jailers through attrition.

Crisp said if Gary does prevent a deal with Southwestern, the option of moving the overflow to the private jail is a good one because of the numbers.

"It costs us $49.35 to keep an inmate and they only want $45 a day," he said.

That would allow the county to save a little money, "while we look for a workable solution." That solution might be to add on to the current jail or build a new one at a later date. Either way, Crisp was quick to point out that he doesn't want to oppose Gary. "It is his jail and we will work with him, if he is reasonable. We just need to all get on the same page."

Herald Democrat Assistant City Editor Kathy Williams contributed to this report.