Santa Barbara Main Jail An Outdated and Inefficient Facility

Conclusions 5

• CL1
  The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the Santa Barbara County General Services Department have not developed a prioritized list for replacement projects at the Main Jail.
• CL2
  The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the Santa Barbara County General Services Department have not developed a prioritized list for repurposing projects at the Main Jail.
• CL3
  Funding availability for Main Jail repair, replacement and repurposing will be problematic based on current budget forecasts.
• CL4
  The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the Santa Barbara County General Services Department have not developed a prioritized list for repair projects at the Main Jail.
• CL5
  While an entirely brand new Santa Barbara County Main Jail facility would have been optimal, the 2016-17 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury found that funding was not available through Federal, State or County resources. The Santa Barbara County Northern Branch Jail will accommodate 376 inmates. This leaves the County with an outdated and inefficient Main Jail, still in urgent need of repair, replacement and repurposing to house its approved capacity. Many unanswered questions remain, including how to satisfy current State and Federal requirements. Meeting these will demand the ongoing input and cooperation of the Sheriff, the General Services Department and the Board of Supervisors to optimize the functioning of this aging facility with the funding available. 2016-17 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 4 SANTA BARBARA MAIN JAIL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Finding 1 The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the Santa Barbara County General Services Department have not developed a prioritized list for repair projects at the Main Jail. Recommendation 1a That the Santa Barbara County Sheriff develop a prioritized list for repair projects at the Main Jail within the next six months. Recommendation 1b That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors direct the Santa Barbara County General Services Department to provide cost estimates for these repair projects. Finding 2 The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the Santa Barbara County General Services Department have not developed a prioritized list for replacement projects at the Main Jail. Recommendation 2a That the Santa Barbara County Sheriff develop a prioritized list for replacement projects at the Main Jail within the next six months. Recommendation 2b That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors direct the Santa Barbara County General Services Department to provide cost estimates for these replacement projects. Finding 3 The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the Santa Barbara County General Services Department have not developed a prioritized list for repurposing projects at the Main Jail. Recommendation 3a That the Santa Barbara County Sheriff develop a prioritized list for repurposing projects at the Main Jail within the next six months. Recommendation 3b That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors direct the Santa Barbara County General Services Department to provide cost estimates for these repurposing projects. 2016-17 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 5 SANTA BARBARA MAIN JAIL Finding 4 Funding availability for Main Jail repair, replacement and repurposing will be problematic based on current budget forecasts. Recommendation 4 That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors identify alternative funding resources for Main Jail repair, replacement and repurposing such as using a portion of the Strategic Reserve, new tax initiatives, General Obligation Bonds or creation of a specific reserve account or any combination of these. REQUEST FOR RESPONSE Pursuant to California Penal Code §933 and §933.05, the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury requests each entity or individual named below to respond to the enumerated findings and recommendations within the specified statutory time limit: Responses to Findings shall be either:  Agree  Disagree wholly  Disagree partially with an explanation Responses to Recommendations shall be one of the following:  Has been implemented, with brief summary of implementation actions taken  Will be implemented, with an implementation schedule  Requires further analysis, with analysis completion date of no more than six months after the issuance of the report  Will not be implemented, with an explanation of why Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors – 90 days Findings 1, 2, 3 and 4 Recommendations 1b, 2b, 3b and 4 Santa Barbara County Sheriff – 60 days Findings 1, 2 and 3 Recommendations 1a, 2a and 3a 2016-17 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 6

Observations 1

• OB1
  The BOS has developed and implemented a plan to fund the North Jail operations. However, the Jury could find no concrete plan to fund the multimillion dollars needed for repairs and upgrades to the Main Jail. According to the GSD, the Main Jail is in failure mode, including but not limited to:  roof systems  plumbing and sewer systems that are over 60 years old  compliance with current seismic standards  compliance with ADA regulations  the Medium Security Facility (aka Honor Farm), the oldest and most dilapidated building in the complex The Sheriff’s goal is to offer the same services at both Jails. This may mean closing some Main Jail beds, reconfiguring some areas, and repurposing others. For instance, Main Jail medical facilities could be consolidated, which would make for greater efficiency and better quality of care. The Sheriff envisions new classroom space in the Main Jail so that inmates are better prepared to rejoin society. This will take intense planning beforehand and the Sheriff stated his intention to begin this process in the near future with internal brainstorming. The Sheriff will determine the priority of repairs and the implementation of reconfiguration and repurposing plans. This will be the greatest challenge for the Sheriff as construction cannot begin until the North Jail opens and Main Jail inmates can be moved. According to the Sheriff, available funds will dictate what can be accomplished. The Marx- Okuba report estimated jail and Medium Security Facility projects that need immediate attention amount to $2.6 million (in 2015 dollars). Within the next five years, $7.7 million will be needed, and a total of $15 million over 10 years will be required to make the necessary repairs and replacements. The Jury found that estimated budget shortfalls are expected to grow over the next several years, making capital improvement projects a significant challenge for the BOS. There are alternative funding sources for capital improvements such as Certificates of Participation (COP), General Obligation Bonds (GOB), tax initiatives and use of the Strategic Reserve. The debt of a COP is secured solely by a stream of revenues generated by a narrowly defined project, and in this case the Jury sees none. COPs are burdened with a higher interest rate. There is also the possibility 2016-17 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury 3 SANTA BARBARA MAIN JAIL of passing new tax initiatives, but those have been repeatedly voted down in the past. A GOB requires a super majority (two-thirds voter approval); past history has indicated this is a very high bar to overcome. Another possibility is pulling funds from the Strategic Reserve. However, the Strategic Reserve is currently funded at $30.9 million, and the County Budget Director recommended that disbursements be limited to $5 million per year for all County operations that serve essential public health, safety and welfare. In addition, the Jury points to the fact that the BOS established a reserve fund in anticipation of increased operating costs with the new North Jail and funded it over the past couple of years. The BOS could similarly establish another reserve fund in anticipation of costs for the Main Jail repairs, replacement and repurposing projects.

Agency Responses 2

Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.