RD330 - Annual Report on Jail Revenues and Expenditures


Executive Summary:
The FY 2005 average operating cost per inmate per day increased to $58.68, up from $54.81 in FY 2004. Jail operating costs per inmate day ranged from a low of $35.06 at the Piedmont Regional Jail to a high of $126.39 at the Fairfax County Jail.

The average daily population (ADP) for all jails in FY 2005 was 24,911. The FY 2005 ADP, assuming the same level of activity at the eight closed local jails/new regional jail as in FY 2004, reflects an increased ADP of .6% over FY 2004.

Total expenditures (including capital costs) reported to house inmates in local and regional jails and jail farms in FY 2005 were $597.5 million. The Compensation Board provided funding of $260 million, with other state agencies providing an additional $12.3 million primarily for capital costs. Virginia’s localities contributed $211.2 million to their jails and an additional $9 million to house inmates at other jurisdictions. In addition, Virginia localities contributed $46 million to meet debt service obligations. The federal government provided funding of $42.7 million. Other funding, such as inmate telephone commissions, medical co-payments, and investment income/earned interest, contributed $17.9 million. Work release funds generated by the inmates provided $7.7 million. Funding received for out of state inmates totaled only $4,819. For FY 2005, the eighteen regional jails showed a net excess of revenues over expenditures of $9.3 million, or $2.60 per inmate day.

The Commonwealth’s share of total expenditures was 45.6%. The Commonwealth’s share of total expenditures ranged from a low of 21.1% for the Fairfax County Jail to a high of 112.2% for the Charlotte County Jail.

The locality’s share of total expenditures ranged from a low of (21.5%) for the Charlotte County Jail to a high of 76.8% for the Fairfax County Jail. The average locality’s share was 43%.

Thirty-four jails received federal and out of state housing fees totaling $39.3 million. Federal revenues accounted for more than 10% of the total expenditures at eleven (11) jails. The Central Virginia and Northern Neck Regional Jails each received funding in excess of 69% of their expenditures from federal sources. The Commonwealth’s overhead recovery program returned $8.9 million to the general fund, an increase of $.75 million over last year.

Average operating costs per inmate day for the Northern region of Virginia were the highest at $86.77. The remaining regions of the state were substantially lower. The Central region was the next highest at $53.02, followed by the Eastern region at $50.57 and the Western region at $46.07.

Commonwealth funding in FY2005 for jail expansion totaled $11.5 million. The Albemarle/Charlottesville Regional Jail received the bulk of the funding at $9.1 million, with the Arlington County Jail receiving $1.8 million and the Chesapeake City Jail accounting for the remaining $.6 million. Local funding for jail expansion totaled $1.4 million.

During FY 2005 the 47 “local” jails incurred 5.5 million inmate responsible days, or 59.9% of the total for the Commonwealth. Federal/Out of State inmate days accounted for 3.1% of the local jails’ total. Total costs for housing inmates in Sheriff run jails was $67.11, or $2.15 per day higher than the average of $64.96 for all jails in the Commonwealth. On average, all localities funded their local jail’s expenditures by 46.6%, compared to the state average local jail funding of 43%. The Commonwealth’s funding average for “local” jails was 45.2%.

In comparison to the state average inmate cost per day (operating) of $58.68, regional jail’s operating costs were $52.22, or $6.46 lower per day. These jails tend to be the newest in the state and were designed with additional capacity for future population growth. When debt service and long-term capital costs are included, the regional jails’ total costs were $3.21 per inmate day lower than the state average ($61.75 per inmate day compared to $64.96). Regional jails were responsible for 38.9% of the state’s total inmate responsible days. Regional jails held 74.5 % of the federal and out of state inmate population. With an average of 1,347 federal inmates, these facilities received $27.9 million of federal / out of state per-diem monies, or $56.69 per inmate day. The state average was $59.54.

The state continues to partially fund the operation of two jail farms. Jail farms accounted for the remaining 1.3% percent of inmate responsible days. The jail farm average operating cost per day was $61.52, or $2.84 a day higher than the state average of $58.68. Due to their age, jail farms incurred minimal capital expenditures/debt service costs during the year ($.20 per inmate day). The jail farms’ total inmate expenditures per day were $61.72. They did not hold any federal inmates nor receive any federal funding.

For localities that did not operate a jail, the City of Harrisonburg paid the highest amount for holding inmates at $1.1 million, followed by the Cities of Waynesboro at $1 million and Staunton at $.8 million. For localities that operated a jail or were a member in a regional jail, Augusta County paid the highest amount for holding inmates in other facilities (due to capacity limitations) at $1.1 million, followed by Loudoun County at $.7 million and Franklin County at $.4 million.

The eleven (11) largest jail facilities, as measured by DOC operating capacity, accounted for 45.4% of the Commonwealth’s total jail funding. These same facilities were responsible for 48.5% percent of all inmate days.

During the examination of inmate canteen accounts, it was found that jails employed three different accounting approaches. They are (1) Gross Basis - costs and revenues received for the items purchased were recorded; (2) Net Basis - a net commission was received for the sale of the item purchased; and (3) Canteen not at Jail Level – the items purchased were charged directly to the inmates at cost. We found that the individual jail’s operating policy had a direct impact on the related size and amount of inmate canteen activity. For instance, whether or not a jail sells tobacco products through the canteen and how often inmates are allowed to make purchases greatly affects the funds reported.

Similarly, the other inmate related accounts to include Telephone Commissions, Inmate Medical Co-payments, Work Release and Investment/Interest revenue were recorded using different accounting approaches. Most of the jails deposited the revenues into either the inmate canteen fund or with the locality/fiscal agent’s general fund. When these designated funds were maintained as separate accounts, their expenditures were reported in the Inmate Canteen and Other Auxiliary Funds Report found in Appendix E.