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COUNTY HALTED EXPANSION PLANS

Sheriff: Jail growth is essential

BY DEB GRUVER

The Wichita Eagle

The Sedgwick County Jail needs more inmate beds, its top administrator says, even if that means the county can't give property owners tax relief.

Sheriff Gary Steed is upset about a recent recommendation by County Manager William Buchanan to halt plans for a $54 million jail expansion and instead reduce the county mill levy by one mill, or $11.50 on a $100,000 home.

"We need more beds," Steed said in an interview Friday. "The potential for lawsuits gets higher with overcrowding. We are not overcrowded right now. There's space in here. But we need more beds."

Steed said the time to expand is now and added that even if the county decides not to add beds, it still will have to spend money on support space. The jail needs more room for medical care, religious programs, renovations and some heating and air conditioning work.

It would make sense to take care of those issues at the same time as an expansion, he said.

Steed said he always has been confident about the jail defending itself in lawsuits because he could say "we're working toward a solution."

Now, he says, he's not sure he could say that.

Steed also said he was upset that he found out about the recommendation the same day Buchanan announced it.

"I'm a little frustrated I didn't find out earlier this was going to be the recommendation," he said. "I found out that morning."

Buchanan said Friday he regrets that.

"That was a mistake. I apologize to him. I blew it. I was wrong. I'm sorry," Buchanan said. "I think we have enormous respect for the sheriff's ability to manage the jail."

The jail's average daily population has been steady -- which Buchanan and some commissioners say is a good sign that the county can deal with its criminal justice problems without adding to the jail. Buchanan said he recognizes that spikes in inmate population on any given day are difficult to manage, but he still thinks building on to the jail is not the long-term answer.

"I respectfully disagree" with the sheriff, Buchanan said. "You can't build out of that problem. You have to manage out of that problem."

Frustration at decision

Steed said he thinks speaking out against Buchanan's recommendation is the right thing to do as an elected official.

"It would be easy for me to say 'I'll let the next sheriff take care of it,' " said Steed, who is not seeking re-election.

He expressed frustration that county officials often look at the average daily population numbers, which he said paint a rosier picture than reality. In June, the average daily population of the jail, the county's work release facility and inmates being housed elsewhere was 1,451.

On Friday, the sheriff's office handled 1,591 inmates between its facilities and other jails. The jail has about 1,062 beds.

Last year, detention deputies booked 36,000 people into jail. The year before, that number was 34,000.

Steed agrees that alternative criminal justice programs such as day reporting and one to help people who are mentally ill stay out of jail and get help are working. And he says a drug court that starts in October may help keep some people out of jail. But he added that the purpose of that program is not so much to reduce the jail's population as to give people a chance to change their lives.

"I don't see it as a population control program," he said.

Tax relief is rationale

Commission Chairman Tom Winters says he doesn't believe building on to the jail at this time is the answer.

He said taxpayers want some relief.

But one of his opponents for his District 3 seat, Karl Peterjohn, says Buchanan's recommendation is in part a political maneuver to help Winters keep his seat. Some people think that Ben Sciortino lost his commission seat in 2006 because he voted with a majority of commissioners to raise the mill levy 2.5 mills to help pay for the jail expansion and a new technical education campus.

Winters has denied any political motivations, as has Buchanan.

Commissioner Gwen Welshimer, who defeated Sciortino, said Friday that "we're going to find any way we can to avoid building on to that jail."

It's a fragile time for taxpayers, she said.

"They are just so worn out with tax increases and gas increases. I honestly don't think they could tolerate a tax increase," she said. "The only way we can give them the least little bit relief is something I support. We never, ever said we were going to build the jail."

At the same time, she said, Buchanan's recommendation to not expand now doesn't mean the county can't build on later.

Reach Deb Gruver at 316-268-6400 or dgruver@wichitaeagle.com.