Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/21/1986 Meeting e - e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room--City Hall May 21, 1986 11 : 30 a. m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Richard Hansen, Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten (11 :50 a.m.- 1 p.m.), Freeman Holmer, Debra Ehrman, Ruth Bascom, Roger Rutan, Jeff Miller. The adjourned meeting of May 19, 1986, of the City Council of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by Council President Richard Hansen. Mayor Obie was pre- sent when the meeting began, but he left at 12:40 p.m. I. ITEMS FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL, CITY MANAGER; ANNOUNCEMENTS; AGENDA ADJUST- MENTS A. National Council on Public Works Improvements Councilor Holmer announced that the National Council on Public Works Improve- ments will meet in Eugene on July 30, 1986. B. Finance, Administration, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the National League of Cities Councilor Holmer indicated that he is a member of the Finance, Administration, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the National League of Cities. He said that Senator Packwood's tax proposal was discussed at a recent meeting of the committee. C. Southeast Firs Newsletter Councilor Bascom said she will draft an article for the Southeast Firs News- letter. The article will be about the proposed expansion of the Mahlon Sweet Airport terminal. She asked if some other councilors would review the arti- cle, and Councilors Ehrman and Hansen agreed to do so. D. Toll Booth at Mahlon Sweet Airport Councilor Hansen said that a letter from a citizen which was recently received by the councilors indicated that Mayor Obie strongly favors a toll booth at Mah10n Sweet Airport. Councilor Hansen said that Mayor Obie has not expressed an opinion about a toll booth at the airport. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 21, 1986 Page 1 ~ II. CONTINUED DISCUSSION OF LANE COUNTY JAIL ~ Mr. Hansen welcomed Judge Hargreaves of District Court, Judge Bocci of Munici- pal Court, and Lane County Sheriff Burks to the meeting. City Manager Michea1 Gleason said the purpose of the work session was to pro- vide information to the councilors about the criminal justice program in Lane County. He introduced Lane County Administrator Jim Johnson and Lane County Criminal Justice Coordinator Larry Sa1mony. Mr. Sa1mony distributed two pages titled "County Mental Health Programs" and IlComnunity." He said the data on the sheets are preliminary. He said the pre-trial alternatives for restraining people in this community are intensive officer supervision for about 15 people at a daily cost of $15 to $20 per per- son, electronic supervision for five people at a daily cost of $15 to $20 per person, and the Lane County jail for about 100 people at a daily cost of $60 to $80 per person. He said the sentencing alternatives are community service for about 200 people at a daily cost of $1 to $1.25 per person, probation for felony convictions for 1,200 people at a daily cost of $2.50 to $3.50 per per- son, probation for misdemeanor convictions for 300 people at a daily cost of $2.50 to $3.50 per person, the weekend work program for 50 people at a daily cost of $15 to $20 per person, the electronic supervision program for 15 people at a daily cost of $15 to $20 per person, the community correction center for 32 people at a daily cost of $30 to $40 per person, the Lane County jail for 107 people at a daily cost of $60 to $80 per person, and the State prison system, which confines about 480 people from this community. Mr. Sa1mony said that establishment of a 24-hour supervised minimum security bed facility for 80 to 120 people at a daily cost of $30 to $40 per person is being discussed by Lane County officials. - Answering questions from Mayor Obie, Mr. Sa1mony said that community service involves cleaning, clerical, and other types of work and is operated out of the Sheriff's office. He said about 40 percent of the people in the community service program are municipal offenders. The City is not charged for the program. Ms. Ehrman added that offenders have to pay a $10 fee to participate in the comnunity service program. Answering a question from her, Mr. Sa1mony said the community correction center is for people who have jobs or people who can secure employment within two weeks and who pay $6.50 to $9.50 a day at the center. He said the center includes a job search program. He said both the comnunity correction center and the probationary program include job train- ing. About 36 people a month are trained for jobs. He said about 24 people are in the community correction center now and about 20 of them have jobs. Usually, there are no municipal offenders in the community correction center. People should be in the center about 30 days to find a job, but people with jobs may be there less time. e Answering questions from Ms. Bascom and Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Sa1mony said that many of the alternative programs are new and will be evaluated in the fall. Mr. Johnson said the comnunity correction center at 11th Avenue and Washington Street is new, but previously the Sheriff's office operated a work release MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 21, 1986 Page 2 - - e program. Offenders are evaluated for the program by the Sheriff's staff. He said the court limited the Lane County jail to 207 inmates and they usually include about 107 sentenced inmates and about 100 pre-trial inmates. Responding to a request from Mr. Gleason to discuss pre-trial and sentenced inmates, Mr. Salmony said many municipal offenders are arrested during the weekend and taken to the County jail. Many of them are released after arraignments early in the week. Some pre-trial inmates are kept in the jail longer because they might leave town or are considered dangerous. Responding to a question from Mr. Miller, Mr. Salmony said most of the figures he gave for sentencing alternatives indicated maximum capacity, but facilities are operated most effectively at about 80 percent of capacity. Mr. Gleason said that only one person sentenced from the Municipal Court is now in the jail. He said about 25 people may be put in the jail over any weekend because of fighting and other municipal offenses. Sometimes none of them are sentenced to the jail. The jail is used as a holding facility. He said judges are aware of the maximum capacity of facilities and it affects sentencing. He said City and County officials should have determined the City's needs in 1979 when the City began contracting with the County for jail services because most pre-trial offenders do not need to be in a maximum security facility. Responding to a comment from Ms. Bascom, Mr. Salmony said the daily cost of keeping a person in the County jail has increased because the number of inmates has decreased. He said all the alternative programs except the 24- hour supervision will be operating in 30 to 45 days. Mr. Gleason said that operating the Municipal Court on weekends is not a solution to the problem. He said the court must have a secure facility to use when it is necessary, but most of the time a minimum security facility is sufficient. Mayor Obie said the City should not overlook the possibility of operating the Municipal Court on weekends. Mr. Salmony said that Lane County officials currently supervise about 250 people on parole for felony convictions and about 50 people on leave from the State prisons. He said that many people in the corrections system have mental health problems; therefore, the mental health programs are an alternative to encarceration. He discussed the cost and capacity of the alcohol outpatient, alcohol residential, diversion and convicted for "Driving Under the Influ- ence," sex offender, alcohol and drug and anti-social, crisis residential, psychiatric review, drug-free, methadone, and non-hospital detoxification programs. He said that other facilities are available for people who are chronically mentally ill. Answering questions from Ms. Wooten, a woman in the audience said the average length of stay of people in Independence House is nine to 12 months for women and 12 to 18 months for men. Mr. Johnson said the $400,000 the City pays for jail services funds some of the mental health programs. The programs also receive about $80,000 from the Lane County General fund and State funds. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 21,1986 Page 3 e e e Ms. Wooten pointed out that a change in the allocation would be a policy change. Mr. Salmony said most of the criminal justice programs are over-utilized. He discussed ways in which the pre-sentence investigations can be expedited. Mr. Gleason said the City's allocation of $400,000 has been a general one. There has never been a contract for a specific number of jail spaces. The court system is the only legal intervention system the community has. Conse- quently, the community deals with chronic street problems by making them crim- inal. The only way to deal with transients who have mental health, alcohol, and drug problems is to wait until the behavior is criminal and then the people enter the criminal justice system. He said that about half of the problems the police deal with are social problems. Responding to a request from Mr. Miller for a discussion of the City's needs, Mr. Gleason said the Police Department response to calls that are Priority #1 or #2 is as good as ever and those priorities usually result in felony charges. In those cases, the City enforces State laws, the offenders are housed in the County jail, and the State pays for them. Mr. Gleason said that about 50 percent of the City's police activity involves municipal crimes or anti-social behavior such as begging, which frightens many people. He said offenders may be cited or taken to the County jail. If a person is cited and does not appear in Municipal Court, a warrant is issued and the person is arrested and taken to the jail. He emphasized that the Mun- icipal Court is very important in the City's efforts to mitigate people's fears of anti-social behavior. He said the City places very few people in maximum security for a long term, but the City needs to confine about 25 or 30 people at a time for criminal or anti-social behavior. He said the City has been paying a high price for jail service and using spaces that should be used by people charged with more serious offenses. He said the City needs a system that does not exist. It needs a minimum security facility for holding people. Mr. Gleason said the first discussions to solve the jail crisis involved the construction of a temporary facility financed and used partly by the City and partly by the State. Now, he said, it is obvious that no other jurisdiction will help finance a temporary facility and he will not recommend that the City finance it alone because many of the people arrested by City police are charged with felonies. He said he may recommend that the City try to negoti- ate a change in the maximum number of people who can be housed in the County jailor obtain jail spaces in another county. He would like to have five to seven minimum security spaces and one or two maximum security spaces so muni- cipal judges can sentence people directly to jail if necessary and have a full range of alternative services. Lane County Commissioner John Ball was in the audience. He commented that a temporary facility is technically and financially feasible. He said the Lane County Board of Commissioners probably would not borrow funds to build the facility and Mr. Gleason said the council probably would not use $400,000 to solve regional and State jail problems. He said the council must decide if building a temporary facility is the best use of the City's $400,000. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 21, 1986 Page 4 e Answering a question from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Ball said the for jail services was used to operate the County jail. of Commissioners will probably have to find other funds now. $400,000 the City paid The Lane County Board for operating the jail Replying to questions from Ms. Wooten, Mr. Ball said the community corrections center operates for about 32 people with about $340,000 from a State grant and the payments of people who stay there. Mr. Salmony said the average cost of other community corrections centers in the state is $27 a day per person. Funding for the programs probably will be continued by the legislature. Mr. Gleason said the City may use the community corrections center, but most municipal offenders are not in custody long enough for it. He said the City needs very low security spaces which probably could be provided for $15 to $20 a day per person. Mr. Ball pointed out that Lane County is developing a long-range plan for jail services which may include a minimum security facility which would be avail- able for City use. - Responding to a question from Mr. Hansen, Mr. Gleason said he recommends that the City formally request Lane County to provide five to seven minimum secur- ity jail spaces for City use. If minimum security spaces cannot be provided, maximum security spaces will have to be accepted so that the Municipal Court has a sanction. He would like to use the rest of the allocation for jail ser- vices in the budget for alternative programs and to expedite arraignments. He said he would like the City to prepare its own plan for jail service because County officials may decide in the fall that they cannot provide jail service for the City. He will also request that the City examine its use of social service programs and funds. Replying to a question from Ms. Ehrman, Judge Bocci said there is space in the County jail for municipal offenders only on weekends. He said that 46 people were arrested and released on warrants from March 31 to May 13. Only 17 of the 46 people appeared in court. He said they know they will not be sentenced to jail. Mr. Miller summarized Mr. Gleason's recommendation. Replying to a question from Mr. Holmer, Mr. Gleason said he would like to pay the County a retainer for five to seven minimum security spaces and then pay $30 to $40 a day when they are used. He expects the charge to be less than $200,000 annually. He would like to use the remaining $200,000 from the bud- get allocation for active involvement in existing alternative programs and the creation of new programs. Responding to a question from Mr. Miller, Mr. Ball said that 38 percent of the felony charges are from the Eugene police and, although the housing of those people is a County and State responsibility, the City has a responsibility to consider the effect of its actions on the community. He said Mr. Gleason's recommendation will not improve the jail situation in the community. Mr. Gleason added that building a 50-bed temporary facility would have improved the situation, but he cannot recommend its construction if another ~ jurisdiction will not pay for the spaces the City does not use. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 21,1986 Page 5 e Ms. Wooten summarized Mr. Gleason's recommendation and said the council will probably have to make policy decisions when the Lane County long-range plan is completed in early fall. She said the City will probably have about $160,000 to spend for alternative programs. Mr. Gleason agreed with her statement and said it is predicated on negotiations with lane County officials. Ms. Wooten said she would like to see data which supports the City's need for five to seven jail spaces. She suggested the council postpone decisions until the fall. Several councilors commented on Mr. Gleason's recommendation. Mr. Hansen said he is comfortable with the request for five to seven jail spaces. He would like Mr. Gleason to continue negotiations with lane County officials. Ms. Schue agreed with Mr. Gleasons's recommendation. Ms. Bascom said much work has been done and the City should not interrupt the process. Answering a question from Mr. Miller, Mr. Johnson said the spaces the City needs may be purchased from another county or the Federal judge may amend the court order to provide the spaces in the County jail. In the latter case, prisoners might be released to make room for City inmates. Mr. Holmer said he would like additional information about the crisis. e Answering questions from Ms. Wooten, Mr. Gleason said he will not know how much of the budget allocation can be used for alternative programs until nego- tiations for the jail spaces are complete. Ms. Wooten said she would like information about buying minimum security spaces in addition to secure spaces pending completion of the lane County long-range plan. She would like to start buying minimum security space on July 1. Mr. Johnson commented that the purchase of detoxification spaces, for example, will free spaces in the jail. Replying to questions from Ms. Ehrman about financing the secure spaces, Mr. Gleason said he is sure that County officials will negotiate in good faith. He said the analysis that results from the jail crisis will enable the City to deal more efficiently with the purchase of jail service in the future. Summarizing, Mr. Hansen said the councilors agreed that Mr. Gleason should continue negotiating with lane County officials and present the decision to the council before a contract is signed. He said he is gratified that County and City officials are working together to solve the problems. Responding to questions from Mr. Rutan and Mr. Miller, Mr. Johnson reviewed the process lane County officials are USing to develop a long-term plan. Mr. Ball said the councilors could work with Lane County commissioners on solutions to the social problems. Mr. Gleason added that the councilors will have to take a position if the County puts a levy for law enforcement on the November ballot. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 21, 1986 Page 6 e -- e Mr. Miller suggested that the council meet with the Lane County commission- ers. Mr. Hansen adjourned the meeting at 1 p.m. to May 27, 1986. R~~ Mi chea 1 Gl eason City Manager (Recorded by Betty Lou Rarick) BLR:vr/2042C MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 21, 1986 Page 7