While I don't know if his plans will work or not, Adkins couldn't win with some on this board.  If he didn't make plans to reduce public safety spending and allowed it to remain at or above 72% some would be bashing him for allowing the unions to rule the city.  Vet's point about the black hole of the general fund may prove true with whatever savings are gained, but the status quo was not an option.  In my mind Adkins will have failed if we don't see signficant infrastructure spending in the coming years.

Posted: 9:00 a.m.Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015

CLOSER LOOK: MIDDLETOWN

Closing Middletownjail, dispatch center could bring savings

City wants to reduce publicsafety spending 12 percent over a five-year period

By Ed Richter

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

Middletown city officials arealready crunching numbers and reviewing operations in an effort to find ways tosave taxpayer dollars as they begin the budgeting process for the coming year.

One of the goals of city administrationis to reduce public safety spending from the general fund from 72 percent to 60percent over a five-year period. Meeting that goal is going to require acontinual review of how public safety services are delivered, officials say,which could mean taking a closer look at the city jail and dispatch center.

Thecity could save as much as $2.2 million dollars by closing its jail andtransferring its dispatch operations to either Butleror Warrencounties. While those moves could save Middletownsome money — some officials say that amount wouldn’t be the entire $2.2 million— they could create more problems than they solve.

Middletown is one of only five cities in Ohio to have afull-service jail. The vast majority of lock-ups in Ohio are run by counties. Some cities,villages or townships across the state have temporary holding facilities wherethey can detain offenders for anywhere from six to 12 hours.

Middletown spends a little over$1 million a year to operate the city jail, and those who support the continuedexistence of the facility say it is a needed deterrent to crime.

MiddletownMunicipal Judge Mark Wall said closing the Middletown City Jail would cost thecity more in the long-term. Wall said people arrested by police know they couldbe going to jail and end up in his courtroom to face possible consequences. Itis one of the advantages Middletown has overother area cities such as Hamilton,he said.

“Idon’t see any cost benefit for closing the jail, and I see this as a detrimentto the community,” Wall said.

Middletown police Chief RodneyMuterspaw said budget discussions about closing the jail and/or the communicationscenter happen every few years. He said closing the jail would become alogistical challenge for the court and local law enforcement who utilize it.

Somepotential costs to closing the jail could include adding transport officers andvans to shuttle prisoners from the county jail to the municipal court,Muterspaw said. The city jail, which doesn’t double or triple bunk inmates,houses an average of 60 to 70 prisoners a day, Muterspaw said.

“It’sconvenient to have a jail here,” he said. “No one wants to come down here.”

MiddletownMayor Larry Mulligan said continuing to operate a full-service jail and acommunications center is something for the city administration to look at. Buthe cautioned that it would not be a straight-on savings of $2 million to $3million.

“We’realways looking for ways to save money, and if we can get those services throughneighboring communities, that would be something to look at and consider,” themayor said. “It’s a question of service and costs and trying to balance both.”

CouncilmanDan Picard said the jail and dispatch center have been actively looked at anddiscussed during budget time each of the six years he has been on council. Tohim, it’s “not a pressing issue.”

“Ifit was financially beneficial to the city, it needs to be considered,” Picardsaid. “But it has to have significant savings for me to go along with it.”

CityManager Doug Adkins has said that the national average of city spending forpublic safety is about 57 percent of its operating budget. If the city couldreduce its public safety spending to 60 percent of the general fund, that couldfree up more than $3.57 million that could be used for other needs such asroads, sewers and other aging infrastructure, Adkins said.

Severalcommunities around the state have closed jails and consolidated or outsourceddispatching, Adkins said. Hamiltonhas not operated a city jail in decades and it transferred its dispatchingcenter to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office in 2013.

Hamilton police Chief CraigBucheit said the cost savings of the dispatch center has come in close to$700,000 in the last two years alone.

“Thenew dispatch center has fielded tens of thousands of calls since theconsolidation, and for the average citizen calling 911, the transition has beenseamless,” Bucheit said.

Geographycould be a complicating factor for Middletownin closing the jail or transferring the dispatch center. The city straddlesboth Butler and Warren counties.

“Ifwe give up dispatch and/or the jail, do we have two separate dispatches andjails depending on where the call originated, or does one entity cross intoanother county to cover all of Middletown?”Adkins said. “How do we pay for that? Do we transport jail defendants to bothWarren and Butlercounty jails and back? There are local court questions as to the availabilityand cost of video arraignment.”

Adkinsalso said any change with operating the jail may also have an impact on howMiddletown Municipal Court operates and could require changes in when court isin session, with the judge’s permission, or how it handles bail/bonds andprobation. He said it could also impact changes in court costs as well astransportation and technology costs.

“Wewill be addressing all of these issues over time, but with multiplejurisdictions and/or departments involved, it will be a slow and methodicalreview and final recommendation to City Council,” Adkins said. “We have to getit right the first time.

“Oncethe dispatch and/or jail are transferred, it is likely a permanent move. Weneed to make sure we understand the financial and operational effects of such achange and too many of the variables can’t be accurately quantified at thistime,” he said.