RD323 - FY 2009 Jail Cost Report - Annual Jail Revenues and Expenditures Report (Including Canteen & Other Auxiliary Funds) - November 1, 2010


Executive Summary:
Total Operating Costs

The FY 2009 average operating cost per inmate per day increased to $70.46, up $4.49 from FY 2008. Jail operating costs per inmate day ranged from a low of $39.99 at the Piedmont Regional Jail to a high of $164.82 at the Loudoun County Jail.

The average daily population (ADP) for all jails decreased by 2.6% in FY 2009 to 28,197. During FY 2009, 10.4 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 2009 were $818.2 million. The Compensation Board provided funding of $315.1 million, with other state agencies providing an additional $18.1 million, primarily for capital costs. Virginia’s localities contributed $397.1 million to their jails and jail farms (including debt service obligations) and an additional $13.7 million to house inmates at other jurisdictions. The federal government provided funding of $52.1 million in direct grants and per diems, excluding Commonwealth provided ARRA State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF). Other funding, such as inmate telephone commissions, medical co-payments, and investment income/earned interest, contributed $25.8 million. Work release funds generated by the inmates provided $8.0 million. Funding received for out of state inmates totaled only $1,307. For FY 2009, the twenty regional jails showed a net excess of revenues over expenditures of $11.7 million, or $2.49 per inmate day.

The Commonwealth’s share of total expenditures decreased during FY 2009 to 40.7%. The Commonwealth’s share of total expenditures ranged from a low of 9.9% for the Loudoun County Jail to a high of 80.3% for the Northampton County (Eastern Shore Regional) Jail.

Average operating costs per inmate day for the northern region of Virginia were the highest at $90.69. The other regions of the state incurred costs substantially lower. The Central region was the next highest at $69.97, followed by the Eastern region at $67.86 and the Western region at $64.12.

The locality’s share of total expenditures ranged from a low of 1.4% for the Piedmont Regional Jail to a high of 88.0% for the Loudoun County Jail. The average locality’s share was 48.5%.

Total Revenues

Commonwealth construction funding in FY2009 for jail expansion totaled $17.6 million. The bulk of the activity was accounted for by the Northampton Regional Jail which received $9.4 million, followed by the Riverside Regional Jail receiving $5.4 million, and followed by the Arlington County Jail receiving $1.8 million. The Chesapeake City Jail and the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail accounted for the remaining $0.6 million and $0.3 million respectively.

Fifty-six (56) jails received Federal revenue of various types, excluding ARRASFSF, totaling $52.1 million ($47.4 million in federal per diems, $1.6 million in federal grants, $3.1 million in other federal funds). The Piedmont and Northern Neck Regional Jails each received funding in excess of 40% of their expenditures from federal sources. The average federal inmate revenue per diem received by all Virginia jails was $64.04. The Commonwealth’s overhead recovery program returned $9.8 million to the general fund.

Virginia received a substantial allocation of Federal ARRA-SFSF program funds ($109.5 million) and Virginia’s administrative authorities approved the allocation of these funds at the 2009 fiscal year-end to supplant previous state general fund expenditures. Based upon the disbursement of these funds through the Compensation Board for Sheriffs’ Offices and Regional Jails, the resulting allocation of a large portion of these funds was to Virginia’s jails, including $64.8 million to salaries in local jails operated by Sheriffs’ Offices and in Regional Jails, and $15.2 million to jail inmate per diem payments.

Sheriff Operated Local Jail Costs

During FY 2009 the 45 local jails incurred 5.6 million incarceration days, or 53.8% of the total for all Jails. Federal/Out of State inmate days accounted for 3.4% of the local jails’ total. Operating costs per day for housing inmates in Sheriff-run local jails was $79.07 (FY 2008, $73.71) and total costs were $87.08, or $8.49 per day higher than the average of $78.59 for all jails. On average, localities contributed 52.3% to their local jails’ expenditures, compared to the statewide average locality contribution of 48.5% for all jails.

Regional Jail Costs

Regional jail’s operating costs were $60.09 or $10.37 lower per day than the state’s average of $70.46. 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 $10.05 per inmate day lower than the state average ($68.54 per inmate day compared to $78.59).

Regional jails were responsible for 4.7 million incarceration days, or 45.2% of the state’s total inmate responsible days. With an ADP of 1,484 federal inmates, regional jails held 74.3% of the federal and out of state inmate population.

Jail Farm Costs

The state continues to partially fund the operation of two jail farms. Jail farms accounted for the remaining 1% of inmate responsible days. The jail farm average operating cost per inmate day was $75.31, or $4.85 a day higher than the state average of $70.46 The jail farms incurred minimal capital expenditures/debt service costs during the year ($0.22 per inmate day). As a result, total expenditures per inmate day were $75.53. The jail farms did not hold any federal inmates nor receive any federal funding.

Additional Housing Costs Incurred at Other Localities

For localities that did not operate a jail, the City of Harrisonburg paid the highest amount ($1.6 million) for housing inmates at other locations, followed by the City of Salem at $1.1 million. For localities that operated a jail and/or were a member in a regional jail, Loudoun County paid the highest amount for housing inmates in other facilities (due to capacity limitations) at $2.5 million, followed by Franklin County at $1.0 million. Regional jails also housed inmates in other jails, with the Prince William Manassas Regional Jail paying $0.9 million to house inmates elsewhere.

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 continued to employ 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): $14,242
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $13,477

FUND NAME: TELEPHONE
$REVENUES (In 000’s): $10,655
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $3,765

FUND NAME: WORK RELEASE/OTHER
$REVENUES: $11,079
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $2,564

FUND NAME: MEDICAL CO-PAYMENTS
$REVENUES (In 000’s): $1,088
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $1,280

FUND NAME: INTEREST/INVEST MONIES
$REVENUES (In 000’s): $52
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $1