RD316 - FY 2011 Jail Cost Report Annual Jail Revenues and Expenditures Report (Including Canteen & Other Auxiliary Funds) - November 1, 2012


Executive Summary:
Total Operating Costs

The FY 2011 average operating cost per inmate per day increased to $72.48, up $1.92 from FY 2010. Jail operating costs per inmate day ranged from a low of $42.50 at the Danville City Farm to a high of $233.00 at the Loudoun County Jail.

The average daily population (ADP) for all jails increased by 1.6% in FY 2011 to 28,287. During FY 2011, 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 2011 were $829.6 million. The Compensation Board provided funding of $291.5 million, with other state agencies providing an additional $5.7 million, primarily for capital costs. Virginia’s localities contributed $435.0 million to their jails and jail farms (including debt service obligations) and an additional $10.7 million to house inmates at other jurisdictions. The federal government provided funding of $51.0 million in direct grants and per diems. Other funding, such as inmate telephone commissions, medical co-payments, and investment income/earned interest, contributed $24.6 million. Work release funds generated by the inmates provided $8.5 million. Funding received for out of state inmates was negligible. For FY 2011, the twenty-one regional jails showed net revenues exceeded expenditures by $1.1 million, or $0.01 per inmate day.

The Commonwealth’s share of total expenditures decreased during FY 2011 to 36.1%. The Commonwealth’s share of total expenditures ranged from a low of 12.8% for the Loudoun County Jail to a high of 66.6% for the Lancaster County Jail.

Average operating costs per inmate day for the northern region of Virginia continue to be the highest at $97.26. The other regions of the state incurred costs substantially lower. The Central region was the next highest at $70.80, followed by the Western region at $70.66 and the Eastern region at $67.82.

The locality’s share of total expenditures ranged from a low of -0.9% for the Northern Neck Regional Jail to a high of 83.0% for the Newport News Jail Farm. The average share for localities was 52.4%.

Total Revenues

Commonwealth construction funding in FY2011 for jail expansion totaled $5.7 million. The bulk of the funding activity was related to Prince William/Manassas Regional Jail, which received $3.1 million. The Arlington County Jail and Chesapeake City Jail accounted for the remaining $1.8 million and $0.8 million respectively.

Fifty-six jails received Federal revenue of various types, totaling $51.0 million ($46.3 million in federal per diems, $2.6 million in federal grants, and $2.1 million in other federal funds). The Northern Neck Regional Jail and Western Tidewater Regional Jail received 67.2% and 31.9%, respectively in funding from federal sources. The average federal inmate revenue per diem received by all Virginia jails was $64.19. The Commonwealth’s overhead recovery program returned $9.8 million to the general fund.

Sheriff Operated Local Jail Costs

During FY 2011 the local jails (45) incurred 5.2 million incarceration days, or 50.1% of the total for all Jails. Federal/Out of State inmate days accounted for 2.7% of the local jails’ total. Operating costs per day for housing inmates in Sheriff-run local jails were $84.58 (FY 2010, $81.74) and total costs were $89.82, or $10.18 per day higher than the average of $79.64 for all jails. On average, localities contributed 57.1% to their local jails’ expenditures, compared to the statewide average locality contribution of 52.4% for all jails.

Regional Jail Costs

Regional jails’ operating costs were $59.97, or $12.51 lower per day than the statewide average of $72.48. 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 $10.42 per inmate day lower than the statewide average ($69.22 per inmate day compared to $79.64, respectively).

Regional jails were responsible for 5.1 million incarceration days, or 49.0% of the state’s total inmate responsible days. With an ADP of 1,591 federal inmates, regional jails held 80.4% 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 0.9% of inmate responsible days. The jail farm average operating cost per inmate day was $80.05, or $7.57 a day higher than the state average of $72.48 The jail farms incurred minimal capital expenditures/debt service costs during the year ($0.04 per inmate day). As a result, total expenditures per inmate day were 80.29. The jail farms did not hold any federal inmates nor receive any federal funding.

Additional Housing Costs Incurred at Other Localities

For localities without a jail or membership in a regional jail, the City of Fairfax paid the highest amount ($0.8 million) for housing inmates at other locations, followed by the City of Covington at $0.7 million. For localities that operated a jail and/or were a member in a regional jail, Franklin County paid the highest amount for housing inmates in other facilities (due to capacity limitations) at $2.3 million, followed by Brunswick County at $1.0 million.

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.

Jails continue to employ three different operations and accounting approaches. Maintaining a canteen operation and fund continued to be the most used method. The funds are accounted for on a (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; or (3) Canteen items directly purchased from a local vendor with no funds accounted for at Jail Level – the items purchased were charged directly to the inmates at cost. The individual jail’s operating policy had a direct impact on the related size and amount of inmate canteen activity. Whether a jail sells tobacco products through the canteen, and how often inmates are allowed to make purchases, both greatly affect the funds reported.

Similarly, the other inmate related accounts, including 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 an inmate canteen fund or with the locality/fiscal agent’s general fund. When these funds were maintained as separate accounts, their activities 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): $14,858
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $13,726

FUND NAME: TELEPHONE
$REVENUES (In 000’s): $10,954
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $4,068

FUND NAME: WORK RELEASE/OTHER
$REVENUES: $11,324
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $4,161

FUND NAME: MEDICAL CO-PAYMENTS
$REVENUES (In 000’s): $1,055
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $1,111

FUND NAME: INTEREST/INVEST MONIES
$REVENUES (In 000’s): $19
$EXPENDITURES (In 000’s): $0