Jailhouse conflict pits city vs. state

January 6th 7:58 pm | Carey Restino    

A partnership between the city of Kotzebue and the state Department of Corrections that has been on the rocks for more than a decade took a turn for the worse this winter as Kotzebue city officials told the state to take its prisoners elsewhere.

The city of Kotzebue, which runs the jail with funding from the state, has long complained that its facility is grossly under-funded and notoriously overused. The state, however, counters that it must completely review the funding for Kotzebue and the other 14 community jails statewide before revamping the distribution of resources.

The frustration levels between the city and state have reached an all-time high after a decade of debate over funding equity.

"We can talk until we are blue in the face and (Department of Corrections) will tell us, "That is nice, so sorry, now take it or leave it," wrote Kotzebue city attorney Joe Evans in an email to state officials. "The people of the NANA region are being singled out for unequal, disparate treatment by a State of Alaska agency that has the duty to protect and serve the people of Northwest Alaska."

The city of Kotzebue isn't the only government entity in the region to have concerns about the future of the Kotzebue jail. In a recent letter to Department of Corrections Commissioner Joe Schmidt, the Northwest Arctic Borough Mayor Martha Whiting called on the state to step up and follow through on its commitment for increased law enforcement in northwest Alaska.

"More law enforcement and tougher laws mean little if the correction facilities and programs are inadequate to deal with the resulting detainment," she said. "The city of Kotzebue continues to struggle operating Kotzebue Regional Jail because of insufficient backing by the State of Alaska. And without adequate funding for correctional facilities, all efforts to promote public safety in the Northwest Arctic will fall short."

According to city officials, state funding has remained stagnant at about $880,000, since 2007. An increase in the 2012 budget drew that up to $944,000, but still fell short of the city's expectations based on a bill passed by the house, which would have increased the funding for the Kotzebue jail to over $1 million. State officials said the budget was made in part from estimated figures from jails across the state, and once all the final numbers were in, the amount was reduced. Kotzebue lists its annual contribution to the jail at $600,000, and says more than 50 percent of the inmates in the 12-bed facility are not from Kotzebue. In addition, Evans claims state data shows the jail as the busiest "community jail" in the state. In July of 2011, for example, the jail had 150 bookings and was 60 percent over capacity.

So what happens to the state prisoners when they can't go to the Kotzebue jail? The state generally transports them at significant expense to Nome or other jails. In the past, that effort has cost significantly more than the requested amount Kotzebue was asking for to help run the facility, Evans said.

This is not a new debate and booting the state out of its jail isn't a new tactic for Kotzebue. In July of 2003, it closed its doors to state-arrested prisoners and didn't open them again until April of 2005. State troopers in the area told media at the time that transporting the prisoners to other jails was a "logistical nightmare."

The Department of Corrections said, however, that it is working to determine the correct funding formula for the Kotzebue jail as well as other community jails in Alaska.

In a letter to the city, Department of Corrections Division of Administrative Services Director Leslie Houston said the department understands Kotzebue's frustration and would like to keep working with the city "to find resolution and common ground."

"Department of Corrections is on the right course as we pursue equity in the funding of all 15 Community Jails statewide," Houston wrote. "We could not accomplish this task in one year. It will take two full cycles and one full year of quarterly reports to complete the project."

State officials and the city have tentative plans to meet early this month to discuss budget amendments for FY2013.

 

---

Contact us about this article at editor@thearcticsounder.com