RD421 - FY 2007 Jail Cost Report - Annual Jail Revenues and Expenditures Report (Including Canteen & Other Auxiliary Funds) - November 1, 2008


Executive Summary:
Total Operating Costs

The FY 2007 average operating cost per inmate per day increased to $61.05, up $0.36 from FY 2006. Jail operating costs per inmate day ranged from a low of $35.48 at the Piedmont Regional Jail to a high of $156.91 at the Loudoun County Jail.

The average daily population (ADP) for all jails increased by 9.8% in FY 2007 to 29,402. About one-quarter of the increase was due to the reporting of the Middle River Regional Jail activity (opened in late FY 2006). During FY 2007, 10.8 million inmate responsible days were incurred by Virginia jails.

Total expenditures (including capital costs) reported to house inmates in local and regional jails and jail farms in FY 2007 were $728.2 million. The Compensation Board provided funding of $311.1 million, with other state agencies providing an additional $4.9 million, primarily for capital costs. Virginia’s localities contributed $333.8 million to their jails and jail farms (including debt service obligations) and an additional $15 million to house inmates at other jurisdictions. The federal government provided funding of $44.2 million. Other funding, such as inmate telephone commissions, medical co-payments, and investment income/earned interest, contributed $25 million. Work release funds generated by the inmates provided $7.8 million. Funding received for out of state inmates totaled only $9,542. For FY 2007, the twenty regional jails showed a net excess of revenues over expenditures of $13.7 million, or $2.87 per inmate day.

The Commonwealth’s share of total expenditures was 43.4%, a decrease of 2.9% from FY 2006. The Commonwealth’s share of total expenditures ranged from a low of 18.9% for the Loudoun County Jail to a high of 85.9% for the Charlotte County Jail.

Average operating costs per inmate day for the Northern region of Virginia were the highest at $92.95. The other regions of the state incurred costs substantially lower. The Central region was the next highest at $54.67, followed by the Eastern region at $52.54 and the Western region at $47.57.

The locality’s share of total expenditures ranged from a low of (12.3%) for the Charlotte County Jail to a high of 78.7% for the Loudoun County Jail. In fact, Charlotte County realized in FY 2007 a $176,000 excess of revenues over expenditures, or 12.3% of costs. The average locality’s share was 45.9%.

Total Operating Revenues

Commonwealth funding in FY2007 for jail expansion totaled $4.3 million. The Arlington County Jail received $1.8 million, followed by the Middle River Regional Jail at $1.5 million. The Chesapeake City Jail and the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail accounted for the remaining $.6 million and $.3 million respectively.
Fifty-eight jails received federal and / or “out of state” revenue totaling $44.2 million. Federal revenues accounted for more than 10% of the total expenditures at eight (8) jails. The Northern Neck, Piedmont and Central Virginia Regional Jails each received funding in excess of 45% of their expenditures from federal sources. The average federal inmate revenue per day received by all Virginia jails was $58.64. The Commonwealth’s overhead recovery program returned $7.7 million to the general fund, a decrease of $.8 million versus last year.

Sheriff Operated Jail Costs

During FY 2007 the 45 “local” jails incurred 5.9 million inmate responsible days, or 54.8% of the total for all Jails. Federal/Out of State inmate days accounted for 3.3% of the local jails’ total. Operating costs per day for housing inmates in Sheriff run jails was $67.51 (FY 2006 $66.28) and total costs were $72.41, or $5.21 per day higher than the average of $67.20 for all jails. On average, the localities funded their jail’s expenditures by 50.3%, compared to the state average locality jail funding of 45.9%.

Regional Jail Costs

Regional jail’s operating costs were $52.94, or $8.11 lower per day than the state’s average of $61.05. These jails tend to be the newest in the state and are designed with additional capacity for future population growth. When debt service and long-term capital costs are included, the regional jails’ total costs were $6.39 per inmate day lower than the state average ($60.81 per inmate day compared to $67.20). Regional jails were responsible for 44% of the state’s total inmate responsible days. Regional jails held 71% of the federal and out of state inmate population. With an ADP of 1,295 federal / out of state inmates, these facilities received $26.3 million of federal / out of state per-diem monies, or $55.76 per inmate day.

Jail Farm Funding

The state continues to partially fund the operation of two jail farms. Jail farms accounted for the remaining 1.1% percent of inmate responsible days. The jail farm average operating cost per inmate day was $63.50, or $2.45 a day higher than the state average of $61.05. The jail farms incurred minimal capital expenditures/debt service costs during the year ($0.20 per inmate day). As a result, total expenditures per inmate day were $63.70. The jail farms did not hold any federal inmates nor receive any federal funding.

Additional Inmate Housing Costs Incurred At Other Localities

For localities that did not operate a jail, the City of Harrisonburg paid the highest amount ($1.5 million) for holding inmates at other locations; followed by the Cities of Fairfax and Salem, both at $.7 million. For localities that operated a jail or were a member in a regional jail, Loudoun County paid the highest amount for holding inmates in other facilities (due to capacity limitations) at $1.8 million, closely followed by the Prince William / Manassas and the Rappahannock Regional Jails at $1.7 and $1.4 million respectively.

Largest Jails Percent of Total Revenues

The eleven (11) largest jail facilities, as measured by average daily population, accounted for 47.9% or $151 million of the Commonwealth’s total jail funding. These facilities were responsible for 48% percent of all inmate days.

Canteen Fund & Other Inmate related Accounts

Beginning with the collection of data for fiscal year 2002, a statement of revenues and expenses for inmate canteen accounts, telephone commission funds, inmate medical co-payment funds, and any other fees collected from inmates and investment/interest monies was required for inclusion in the Jail Cost Report.

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, and 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 by location in the Inmate Canteen and Other Auxiliary Funds Report found in Appendix D.

Summary of Presentation of Funds Expenses and Revenues

FUND NAME: INMATE CANTEEN
$REVENUES (In 000’s): $13,867
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $13,358

FUND NAME: TELEPHONE
$REVENUES (In 000’s): $10,689
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $4,627

FUND NAME: WORK RELEASE/OTHER
$REVENUES: $9,040
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $1,929

FUND NAME: MEDICAL CO-PAYMENTS
$REVENUES (In 000’s): $928
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $344

FUND NAME: INTEREST/INVEST MONIES
$REVENUES (In 000’s): $180
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $23