Published: April 19, 2008 06:02 pm            

Budget and personnel issues plague detention center

April 16, 2008 — Two guards on paid administrative leave, the loss of federal prisoners and an exceeded budget are issues causing a buzz around the Carter County Detention Center.

According to the facility, guards Cliff Estep and Loraine Savage have been on administrative leave but jail officials have not said why the two are not working. Jailer Randy Binion was in the hospital Tuesday and was unable to comment concerning the matter.

Will Bailey, Chief Deputy, spoke to the local media concerning the issues in Binion’s absence.

“Yes sir, there were allegations and strictly allegations, only,” Bailey told The Journal-Times when asked to verify the guards’ paid leave. “Jailer Randy Binion called the Kentucky State Police in to investigate. These were allegations made by inmates against my deputies and it’s all under investigation.”

Bailey would not expand on the specifics of the allegations leading to the assigned leave.

While Bailey did admit to some federal prisoners being removed from the jail, he said some remain in the facility.

“We have not lost all the federal prisoners and we are currently housing some,” he said.

The chief deputy said “a combination of factors” led to the removal of some of those inmates.

According to Carter County Treasurer Cindy Lowe, there has been an impact on the jail’s budget, following unexpected medical bills and the loss of 50 federal prisoners.

“At a perdiem rate of $42 per day, this will amount to around $64,000 of lost revenue each month,” Lowe said. “There were already some concerns, as several budgetary line items have been exhausted. We were working with a tight budget from the beginning and with the cost of food and utilities rapidly rising, we do not have enough to finish the fiscal year.”

Lowe said the jail’s budget also suffered some unexpected medical bills at the beginning of the fiscal year that far exceeded the budget.

One particular incident was when Kentucky State Police in Ashland charged 27-year-old inmate Robert Drown Jr. with an assault charge that stemmed from a physical altercation between Drown and another inmate Donnie Elliott of Elliott County.

After allegedly taking a slam to the face from Drown, Elliott was transported to the hospital where he underwent surgery Jan. 5 at the cost of nearly $10,000, said Carter County Judge Executive Charles Wallace in January.

Several reports of staph infection among inmates at the Carter County Detention Center also have caused the jail to shell out money for medical costs.

Lowe said even before the loss of federal prisoners; the jail budget was estimating a $50,000 shortfall. She said the jail would experience shortages in food, utilities, medical services, cleaning supplies and repairs.

“There is simply no extra money within the jail’s budget to cover these particular line items,” Lowe said. “It will have to come from other county budget funds. Unfortunately, all of the county’s funds are stretched tight right now.”

Bailey said the Carter County Fiscal Court cut the jail’s budget causing a financial impact.

“They cut our budget, and then we lost between 27-30 prisoners that same week, he said. “And the U.S. Marshall’s Office told all of us they’d pull inmates if we didn’t comply with what they wanted. Bailey also said the U.S. Marshall’s Office told jail official they would send back those prisoners following any investigation.

“We are supporting the investigation by the state police and Randy is the one who called them here,” Bailey added.

Bailey did not comment on the specifics of the investigation.

Lowe and Wallace disagreed with what Bailey said and told a Journal-Times reporter there hadn’t been any budget cuts for the jail that would have affected the loss of federal prisoners, which were removed over the past few months.

“This was due to federal investigations of internal problems at the jail and not the fiscal court,” Wallace said.

        

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