Last edited 8:31 a.m., June 2, 2016
After the Greene County Commission yesterday renewed its call for Springfield to help fund a temporary jail structure, City Council members approved a separate plan for use of $2.9 million in carryover funds.
While much of the money is earmarked for public safety purposes, council members said at its
May 31 meeting if they approved the
county’s request for funding, it would not come from the excess $2.9 million.
“Of the remaining $2.9 million, nearly $2.2 million has a direct bearing on public safety,” said Councilman Ken McClure, noting some of the carryover funds had been spent to date. “Actions we may take tonight regarding use of the carryover funds would not directly impact what we may or may not choose to do as a council regarding the proposal by the county.”
The carryover funds - available because some departments came in under budget and sales tax revenues were higher than expected in fiscal 2014 and 2015 - include
• $650,000 for environmental liability costs;
• a $512,000 match for a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to hire additional police officers;
• $500,000 for fire apparatuses; and
• $475,000 for exhaust removal systems at fire stations.
Councilman Craig Fishel said council’s
May 16 decision to approve a contract with Southern Missouri Judicial Services LLC for jail services pre-empted the commission’s proposal for some $3 million over three years. The contract with Southern Missouri Judicial Services calls on the company to transport inmates to the Taney County Jail and monitor those in custody at three holding cells at the city’s Battlefield Road police station.
“We had no options at that time,” Fishel said last night. “I think that, at this point, the citizens of Springfield are very safe.”
Council members in attendance voted unanimously to pass the carryover funds bill. Craig Hosmer and Kristi Fulnecky were not present.
Earlier in the day, Greene County Presiding Commissioner Bob Cirtin and staff held a news conference asking the city to consider using the $2.9 million in carryover funds for the proposed temporary jail on a parking lot east of the Greene County Jail and north of the commission’s office at 933 N. Robberson Ave. The county’s proposal guarantees Springfield municipal prisoners a minimum of 20 beds per day at the temporary facility. The structure would hold 100-150 inmates. The county would partially match the city’s funding to the tune of $400,000 to $500,000 a year.
“The Greene County Commission and the sheriff are here today because our citizens have communicated that their top priority is public safety and it is also our priority,” Cirtin said at the news conference.
Cirtin criticized some of the items included in the city’s carryover funds bill, including $200,000 for new carpet at the Busch Municipal Building and $100,000 for a Kearney Street economic development study. He said items in the bill he considered extraneous add up to nearly $1 million, which is what the commission is asking per year from the city.
“We recognize that resources are limited for both the city and county,” he said. “But we also believe public safety is our fiscal priority, and we cannot afford not to respond to this crisis.”
Council is still deliberating on the county proposal. A bill specifically related to the proposal was not on council’s agenda last night.
