COMMISSION WANTS DETAILS OF SHERIFF'S DISCRETIONARY FUNDS

Chief Deputy Says Department Does Not Have The $1.5 Million To $2 Million
Needed To Complete Construction At County Jail

BAY MINETTE -- Commissioners are asking local officials to work together to
solve the county's jail overpopulation problem, and saying the solution is
dependent on Sheriff James B. "Jimmy" Johnson revealing how much money he
has in his department's discretionary accounts.

For the second time in eight months, the commission has asked Johnson to
release specific information on how much money he has in several funds that
the sheriff said are used solely for law enforcement or training needs.

The proposal commissioners discussed on Thursday calls for using those
funds to complete the two top floors of the Baldwin County Corrections Center.

Contacted Thursday afternoon, Chief Deputy Larry Milstid said the $60,000
to $80,000 in the handful of discretionary accounts won't come close to
funding the $1.5 million to $2 million construction project.

Johnson was out of the county Thursday and won't be back until Monday,
Milstid said.

Commissioners also have asked Johnson for a written statement saying that
completion of the top two floors of the six-story-tall facility would solve
overpopulation problems at the jail.

Milstid said the sheriff can't make that statement because even if those
102 spaces are finished and able to hold inmates, there will still be too
many inmates for the units available. Current capacity is 404 inmates with
the facility running about 76 people over its limit, he said.

"They want a statement. Unfortunately, we don't have a crystal ball and
there are, in addition to the sheriff's office, 12 municipal offices making
arrests and state agencies making arrests. ... That is absolutely
impossible to make such a statement," Milstid said.

Instead, Milstid supported a short-term solution offered by the district
attorney's office, judges and some commissioners that focuses on getting
people out of jail if certain criteria are met.

"The right track is some more interaction with the district attorney's
office and the courts in reviewing the bonds or having speedy pleas. That
will be a tremendous help," he said.

That process is al ready under way on a trial basis for six months.
Increased use of electronic monitoring devices to allow for more house
arrests instead of jail time is also being considered, commissioners said.

As far as the commission's repeated requests to review the Sheriff's
Department's discretionary accounts, Milstid said he thought that was taken
care of last June.

"We sent them a copy of the audit. That should have cleared it up for
them," he said.

But the new request, which originated from Commissioner George Price of
Lillian, specifically asks for the last two years' worth of spending
records involving all the sheriff's discretionary accounts.

"Thank goodness George Price asked," said Commissioner Jonathan Armstrong
of Daphne, who said the fund information should be available to anyone in
the public, not just to the commissioners.

"Our books are open to the public. Theirs should be too," Armstrong said.

Price said he was cleaning up some paperwork recently and found a grand
jury report from the fall of 2000 that urged the county to finish the top
two floors of the county jail to address the issue of overcrowding. Price
said he won't know how to pay for the construction until he knows how much
money the Sheriff's Department has.

"Everyone needs to know what money is there. It's all taxpayer money,"
Price said.

Milstid said state statute allows the department to use its discretionary
funds for law enforcement or training. That includes equipment, supplies,
guns, cars, radios, personnel training, certification and other needs.

"It's a matter of trust and the trust is that we are spending the money for
law enforcement," Milstid said. "We don't ask them about their
(discretionary accounts.)"

When the commission instituted an allocation system in October, the
Sheriff's Department had to squeeze another $150,000 out of its $9 million
operating budget this fiscal year, Milstid said. Because of that, he said,
the sheriff has had to use the ever-fluctuating discretionary funds to
supplement its general budget in other ways.

Milstid said there are three main discretionary accounts and other smaller
ones. They include:

The food bill account that typically carries a $10,000 to $20,000 surplus,
he said. That money is needed on hand because the state is sometimes late
in paying its bill to the county for food service, he said. His department
bills the state nearly $50,000 a month for food, based on the number of
meals served to state inmates.

The sheriff's pistol permit fund that brings in about $100,000 to $150,000
annually. It consists of fees charged to citizens who buy pistol permits in
Baldwin County, Milstid said.

The assets and forfeiture funds that consists of money or property seized
through drug convictions. Milstid said it has about $25,000 to $30,000 now,
but that it's an "unpredictable account." The money sustains the county's
drug task force and fluctuates heavily depending on the arrests made and
the funds seized.

Milstid said the Sheriff's Department is a wise steward of its
discretionary accounts. In recent months, at least a few projects have been
funded with some of that money. They include:

Nearly $7,000 that was earmarked in September to pay for a tool shed on the
county jail grounds outside of the jail.

About $25,000 that was paid November 2000 to Sustainable Properties of
Mississippi for 10 acres near Stapleton to be used as a training site.

Commissioners have no oversight regarding these discretionary accounts.

Last May, the commission discovered that the Sheriff's Department had
purchased land in November 2000 with the intention of building a law
enforcement training facility. At that time, the commission requested a
budget showing what the Sheriff's Department had in its various
discretionary accounts.

That request was never complied with, said commissioners Price and Armstrong.

They renewed that request for information on Thursday and have asked for a
response from the Sheriff's Department before Tuesday's regular commission
meeting.

Milstid said Johnson will respond in writing as the commission has
requested, but that he's not sure the Tuesday deadline can be met because
the sheriff won't return to Baldwin County until Monday.

"I respect where they are," he said of the challenges commissioners face
trying to balance funding road improvements with their other spending
priorities, including finishing construction at the county jail. But
Milstid said the commissioners have to respect the Sheriff's Department's
role, as well.

"Baldwin County is exploding in growth. Our charge is to ferret out crime
and arrest people. You've got to have a place to put them," Milstid said.