Questions raised on JSCO move from courthouse
Last month, Josephine County Sheriff Gil Gilbertson announced that he was considering moving his department’s offices to the county jail as a possible cost-saving measure.
However, there are a number of issues that could complicate such a switch.
Each of the county’s departments is charged a Buildings Operations and Maintenance (BOM) fee. It goes primarily toward paying utility bills for all county buildings.
During a Thursday, April 26 Budget Committee meeting in Grants Pass, Rosemary Padgett, county chief financial officer, said that the county spent $650,000 on utility bills last year.
Departments also are assessed for the Internal Service Fund (ISF), which is based on a set percentage of their overall budgets. Padgett said that the amount charged Josephine County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) for ISF and BOM is already set in the county’s 2007-08 fiscal year budget, and will not change.
“Whether the sheriff stays here or goes to the jail, he will pay the ISF because he is part of county government,” Padgett said. “The sheriff is already being charged as if he’s in the Justice Bldg.”
If JCSO does move to the jail, the county still would have to pay utilities for its current location. The county would be unable to close the building entirely, as JCSO shares space with the city of Grants Pass and the District Attorney’s (D.A.) office.
“We can’t mothball that building,” Padgett said.
Because the county would continue to be responsible for utilities and other charges at the Justice Bldg., those costs would still have to be spread among its other departments.
“Other departments would be paying more in order for the sheriff to be paying less,” Padgett said. “When you have a county building, you’re going to pay for it one way or another.”
Commissioner Dave Toler said that “operational issues” could further complicate the move.
“Maybe it looks simple, but when you scratch the surface, there are a lot of issues there,” Toler said. “There’s a lot involved.”
JCSO regularly deals with the D.A.’s office, the Grants Pass Police Dept. and the commissioners. All those offices are in close proximity to JCSO’s present location. However, moving JCSO to the jail would change all that.
“That’s way over on the east edge of town,” Toler said. “What was a walk away (if the move is made), now he’ll have to get in a car and drive, use gas and go through traffic to chat with the D.A.”
The jail has higher security than the Justice Bldg., which could limit public access, Toler said. It may also affect the many JCSO employees who aren’t deputies.
“The clerical staff folks don’t carry guns and don’t have that training, but now (if the move were made) they’re going to be with jail inmates with just a door in-between them,” Toler observed.
Also involved are the costs of moving and remodeling jail facilities to accommodate JCSO’s administrative, clerical, investigative, records and civil divisions. As such, Padgett said, JCSO “probably won’t realize any savings” during the first year after the move.
Toler said that he has “no conclusive opinion about it at this point” and is waiting for Gilbertson to complete his feasibility study before making up his mind.
“I am not in opposition,” Toler said.
However, he expressed concern that the proposed move could be a short-term reaction to the county’s pending financial difficulties.
“If it only makes sense for a year and is only in response to a crisis situation and not what we do in the long run, I’m not going to be really thrilled about it,” Toler stated.
Long-term, the county and JCSO could realize some savings by leasing the Justice Bldg. space to a third party. Padgett points out that there is a lack of affordable space in Downtown Grants Pass, and that the city government is seeking locations for some of its operations.
“There is a potential for savings there,” Padgett said. “It may make sense. But we have to have the time to really look at it and assess the impacts.”
During the April 26 Budget Committee meeting, Gilbertson said that he hopes to have the feasibility study completed within the next two weeks.
“He just wants to look at it as a potential thing to do,” Toler said. “We’ll see where it goes.”
