Detention Center opened in 2000. Facility, built to hold 80, houses 44 now.

Hickman County contemplates closing detention center

(Clinton, KY) The Hickman County Fiscal Court may be soon asked by the current Hickman County Judge Greg Pruitt to vote to close the county jail and move police dispatch and 911 functions out of the county.

Rumors of a closing have circulated for months. The matter hasn’t come before the Fiscal Court, leading locals to believe that the rumors were unfounded. The issue arose again when a letter entitled “Open Letter to the Citizens of Hickman County” appeared in the March 18th issue of the Hickman County Times.

Sheriff Mark Green, Jailer Chad Frizzell, Hickman County Fire & Rescue Chief John R. Turner, Paula Boaz, Director of the Clinton-Hickman County Ambulance Service, Inc. and Allen Poole, Clinton City Manager signed the open letter that said in part:

“It has come to our attention that Hickman County Judge-Executive Greg Pruitt has been in talks with other counties to move our emergency 911 dispatch outside of Hickman County. As leaders of the emergency management agencies in Hickman County, we feel that moving any emergency service, especially our 911 dispatch center, outside of Hickman County could delay response time of police, sheriff, fire and EMS and is therefore detrimental to the safety and security of our citizens…”

The letter went on to urge readers to contact Pruitt and magistrates to oppose the move.

The Hickman County Detention Center opened in February 2000. The facility holds eighty inmates, has sixteen employees, including five dispatchers for the emergency dispatch and 911 center, located in the jail. Inmate population as of Thursday, March 20, according to Jailer Chad Frizzell, stands at forty four.

Frizzell said the jail has never been “in the black.” It has always drawn money from the county’s general fund. Frizzell estimated that the yearly cost of the jail is $500,000. Since its construction, the jail has depended on state prisoners to fill up the cells and plug holes in the budget.

That’s a big part of the equation on jail closing. A law reforming Kentucky’s criminal justice system, House Bill 463 passed in 2011 dealt with sentencing issues. The law has led to fewer state prisoner incarcerations. That’s blown a hole in jail budgets across the Commonwealth.

County Judge Greg Pruitt, interviewed by phone on Friday, March 21st, said that HB 463 has created a shortage of state prisoners. He contacted state corrections officials recently and asked if more prisoners would be coming from the state. Pruitt said Corrections told him there would be no change from the present census.

Pruitt said that the jail problem is not one of costs which have slightly increased over the years. The issue is income.

For the coming year, Pruitt estimates that the jail will cost between $600,000 and $700,000. Pruitt says that the change in the law has so reduced the number of state prisoners that the county can no longer afford to operate the jail.

A bond on the jail of approximately $1.6 million dollars is being paid at a rate of $176,000 a year. Judge Pruitt estimates there are ten to eleven years left to pay off the bond. It’s a debt that isn’t going away if the jail closes.

Pruitt said funding the jail is only a part of the financial issues facing the county.

Not only is the jail draining the coffers of the second least populated county in Kentucky, but the nonprofit ambulance service depends on funding from county government. Pruitt said that the ambulance service is costing county government $120,000 yearly. A bill in the 2014 General Assembly that would have eased the county’s expense is going nowhere. Pruitt is not optimistic about chances of passage.

When asked if the rumors are true that he is exploring moving the 911 service out of the county, Pruitt confirmed the rumors. He said he has been in talks with other counties, mentioning Fulton and Carlisle, and the Kentucky State Police, to farm out the dispatch services.

When asked what could be done with the relatively new jail, Pruitt said that decision had not been made. One county magistrate, Ricky Deweese, toured the jail for the first time a week ago. Deweese could not come up with another use for the block building other than the use for which it was constructed.

County Judge Executive Greg Pruitt was judge when the jail was constructed and financed. At the time, he said, “We were trying to save money as we saw it going out.“

The move to close the jail and move 911 dispatch out of the county comes as a surprise at the end of the Judge’s long term in office. Pruitt is retiring after over two decades as county judge executive. When asked why do this now, Pruitt said that his reasoning for closing the jail has to do with budgeting for the coming year-after he is no long county judge.

Judge Pruitt said that he felt that this was the “responsible thing to do.” Pruitt said that the letter about moving the dispatch center was “premature.” He says that dispatch could stay if users, like the City of Clinton, pay more of a prorated share of the cost of 911. Presently, Clinton pays around $12000 a year toward dispatch services.

Pruitt said that candidates for jailer must be told in early May what they can expect to earn as jailer. If there is a county jail, the pay will be considerably higher. If there is no county jail, the jailer’s primary duty will be taking county prisoners to out of county facilities.

There are several candidates vying for the position for jailer, including the Clinton City Manager, a city police officer, jail employees and the son of a former jailer. All are running on the Democratic ticket, so the issue of who will be the next jailer will be decided in the May primary.

Jailer Chad Frizzell, one of the signers of the open letter, is running for county judge. Frizzell and his two opponents, former county school superintendent, Kenny Wilson, and contractor Joey McGee, are on the ballot in the May Democratic primary. That race too will be decided in May, unless a registered Independent jumps in. No one locally anticipates that happening.

The jail has never broken even. Pruitt said that during Robert Tarver’s term, two jailers prior, the jail cost the county $80,000 yearly. In order to break even, Jailer Frizzell said the math works out that the county would have to house 112 state prisoners, an impossibility since the jail is full with 80 inmates.

Frizzell disputes Pruitt’s estimates of future jail costs. He is working on his own budget for a side by side comparison with the county judge‘s budget. . He and others believe Pruitt’s numbers are substantially higher than previous years. Under Kentucky law, the county judge, treasurer and jailer are supposed to work together on the jail budget.

The issue of closing the jail has been only a rumor for some time. The issue has never been brought before the Hickman Fiscal Court as an action item. According to the conversation with Pruitt, that will happen at the April 14th meeting of the Fiscal Court. It appears that the Court has only to vote not to fund the jail in the coming year for it to close.

The County Judge Executive has no plans to have a public meeting. He is miffed that the open letter appeared in only one of the local papers. He said that the “responsible thing to do” would have been for the Times to call him for a comment on the letter. That, according to Pruitt, is what the Gazette would have done.

Pruitt said he is contemplating getting the information out on why he is making the right move in moving 911 and closing the jail by “other means” than publication in the local papers. He has a response to the open letter coming out in both papers next week.

Pruitt was asked if a feasibility study would be conducted on the issue of the jail closing.

“We don’t need one.” Pruitt said. “The numbers are staring us in the face.”

Opponents cite factors to be considered in moving 911. Frizzell reeled off a laundry list of reasons not to move 911 including:

- slowed response times
- officer safety issues
- confusion in street names
- city names
- and priorities of dispatch when faced with doubled duties.

Others wonder how much the change will cost “stakeholders” like the City of Clinton.

As far as closing the jail, Frizzell points out that jobs will be lost when the jail closes.

“That’s sixteen families.“ Frizzell said.

Also lost will be inmate labor used by the county, city and state park for routine maintenance programs.

Not lost will be the $1.6 million dollar bond that will have to be paid.

Others argue that inmate populations will rebound, citing past dips in populations that came back up over time.

The dispute over the jail and 911 arose as suddenly as some of the winter storms of 2014.

It’s producing similar icy results.