http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/10/long-awaited_expansion_of_kala.html
After a 20 year long debate and offset, Kalamazoo County Jail has been scheduled to be renovated over the next two years to expand its capacity. The cost of this project is $23million. Originally, the county jail was built to intake approximately 4,500 people per year, but it currently sees about 13,500 people per year. In average, Kalamazoo city has been spending over $700,000 to utilize other county's jail cells.
"This is a good plan based on the needs of the criminal justice system and on budget issues,"
Given this information, do you support this plan? Or do you think Kalamazoo city should have spent this money on other needs?
I think with the given numbers it is best for the county to renovate the jail. It looks like it should have been done a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteThe renovations do seem to be overdue, and the changes could make a significant impact.
ReplyDeleteIt is in the best interest of the jail to renvoate. Spending 700k a year is outragous and I think expanding it is best for the city and the people who work at the jail.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the above comments but it is unfortunate that so much money is going to expand a jail. Although it is a necessity for the city.
ReplyDeleteGiven the $700k per year to utilize other county jails, I feel as though this is necessary investment. However, thinking about our class role play exercise, this article made me think about the budget process and how Kalamazoo is going to come up with the $23 million. I would be curious as to which aspects of the budget are going to be cut to accommodate for this large expense. In addition, I think this another case of treating the symptoms instead of focusing on prevention. However, I understand that prevention is a much more difficult issue to address.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is necessary because of the large sum of money spent each year to compensate for their inability to accommodate the numbers they are receiving. I disagree with Ryan about focusing on prevention, not on principle but rather on reality. Focusing on prevention is a long term goal, whereas its obvious that this needs to be dealt with immediately because the county is hemorrhaging money that could be spent elsewhere, such as schooling. It would be very interesting to see what other programs are cut in the budget to make room for this $23 million.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is a large amount it is necessary for the city.
ReplyDeleteI think the renovations are necessary because in the long-term scope the $700,000 per year is too much compared to the $23 million, and since the number of inmates has more than tripled, the renovations should not have been debated for 20 years. Kalamazoo has just been losing money.
ReplyDeleteIt is the county, not the city. Many are upset, actually, because city residents use the jail more (ie, are more likely to be arrested and incarcerated). Therefore, city residents should pay a higher tax for the jail.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jon Powers
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