Sheriff Challenges Jail Cost Analysis, Defends SMCP Participation
Ashe County Sheriff Phil Howell said a recent cost analysis report of the Ashe County Detention Center presented to county commissioners on Aug. 3 is inaccurate.
He also worries that similar incomplete information could detrimentally affect his department’s annual allocation from the county, as he believes the return of leftover ACSO 2025-26 fiscal year funds likely contributed to the recent elimination of three ACSO employees, according to Howell. He said his department recently returned more than $700,000 to the county’s general fund.
The cost analysis report, “Corrections Facilities Cost Analysis,” indicates that the ACDC’s participation in the state’s misdemeanor confinement program costs the sheriff’s office significantly more than the revenue it generates.
Through the SMCP, the Ashe County Detention Center houses and transports out-of-county inmates at a cost to the state and other counties. It allows individuals serving longer misdemeanor sentences to be housed in local county jails rather than state prisons, according to the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association.
Howell said the report isn’t accurate because it calculates the jail’s total costs and divides them by the total number of inmates. Howell said this is an unfair comparison because utilities, including electricity, are impossible to delineate between paid out-of-county and non-paid local inmates from total detention center costs.
“The lights and power have to stay on (regardless of which inmates are staying in the center),” Howell explained.
Moreover, the sheriff said the program helps offset daily costs for local non-paid inmates.
Providing a spreadsheet of daily and annual detention costs to the Ashe Post & Times on Aug. 14, Howell said it costs $31.56 to house, feed, and provide medical support to an average of 36 local non-paid inmates per day. Altogether, the county incurs an estimated $414,657.52 annually to house an average of 36 local non-paid inmates.
The spreadsheet calculates $530.48 per day from the SMCP. Altogether, this generates $193,626.69 revenue for the county general fund, said Howell.
The detention center also generates $146,922.02 annually to house other out-of-county inmates, including female inmates from Alleghany County and Swain County, said Howell.
Including SMCP and other out-of-county paid inmates, the sheriff said the $340,548 in paid-inmate revenue helps offset the annual costs of local inmates. Overall, he said the SMCP helps balance his department’s and the county’s budget.
Lack of communication
Howell said he was unaware of the cost analysis report until a few days before the commissioners’ presentation, when county management emailed it to his captain and lieutenant.
The sheriff also said an Appalachian State University intern compiled the report, but didn’t contact him before the Aug. 3 presentation.
Had the intern contacted him, Howell said he would’ve been “happy” to provide him the spreadsheet and breakdown of the detention center’s finances about SMCP and local inmates’ costs.
Howell also said the intern apologized after the presentation, and the sheriff invited him to attend a legislative meeting to learn more about department expenditures.
After reviewing expenditures while considering staffing, Howell said he will likely reduce the detention center’s SMCP participation. Still, he doesn’t want to decline program participation outright because he doesn’t want to burden other sheriff’s offices facing limited jail space.
However, Howell said he also wants to protect employee morale amid budget cuts.
“The jail is not here to make money; there’s no detention center in the state that makes money off of a jail,” said Howell. “It’s impossible because you gotta keep your employees happy. They have to enjoy the job and respect it, or they will find a job elsewhere. So, if you raise the number of inmates, you’re gonna have problems with staff.”
County commissioners previously discussed the SMCP’s costs and the sheriff’s budget concerns during their June 19 budget meeting. Their comments are included in previous coverage of the budget process.
Click or enter https://tinyurl.com/2urzk236 into a web browser to read the full report.
Jefferson woman charged with larceny after allegedly stealing lottery tickets
A Jefferson woman is facing a felonious count of larceny by employee after allegedly stealing lottery tickets, according to her arrest warrant.
Jessica Blevins, 46, of E. Main Street, allegedly embezzled approximately 50 $50 lottery tickets from Aloia Enterprises, LLC, on Aug. 4, according to the warrant.
She was issued a $30,000 secured bond on Aug. 11, according to court records. She was released on Aug. 13.
