Tom Green County Jail Expansion Officially Approved and Funded

SAN ANGELO, TX -- Tom Green County Commissioners Tuesday officially approved a change order expanding the jail construction project to include an additional 224 beds for a total of 552.  

The change order expands the guaranteed maximum price by $12,297,626 from $51,220,215 to $63,517,841 and adds 184 days to construction time.  The new jail will be substantially complete in November 2019.

The total amount for the new jail project is a bit of a moving target.  Commissioner Rick Bacon, Pct. 3, in a March 6, 2018 interview said, "the process has been convoluted, but in the end the $80 million new jail will have 553 beds and cost around $70 million." The $7 million savings from the $70 million figure is because the county is leveraging its work crews to utilities infrastructure into the new jail location.

Six months ago commissioners were planning on building the new jail with 328 beds and using part of the existing jail downtown with plans to expand the new jail later.  The Texas Commission on Jail Standards informed the county that requirements for operating two jails would substantially increase the operating costs, so the commissioners had to come up with a new plan.  

Commissioners on Tuesday also approved a line item transfer shifting the $8.2 million in bond funds from revenue into jail construction.  The court approved issuing the bonds last month and they recently sold so now the county has received the funds from the bond sale. The court also approved a notice to proceed with construction of the new portion of the jail.  The additional $8.2 million in debt may require a tax increase.  Commissioners will make that decision during budget hearings this summer. 

In other business, commissioners heard a presentation from MHMR of the Concho Valley Executive Director Greg Rowe.  Rowe told the court that Senate Bill 292 (SB 292) provides state funding for a mental health court to handle post booking issues for individuals with mental issues who are arrested.  Those services include getting social security and medicaid benefits to keep those individuals out of the county jail. Currently there is a program for jail diversion for people who are detained through the Mental Health Deputy department.  

Rowe will return to the commissioner’s court next week with a request for a resolution and a budget for the program.  The state funding requires local in-kind matching funds. The new program would help keep individuals with mental health issues out of jail and ultimately save taxpayer dollars.