Springfield will house inmates in the Vernon County Jail, this time with rides back
The Springfield Police Department will house municipal inmates at the Vernon County Jail starting Jan. 2, according to Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams.
Springfield City Council approved in a 9-0 vote a plan to contract with Vernon County for jail space.
It's similar to previous — and prematurely canceled — contracts with Miller and Taney counties but with one major difference. After release, people will be given a ride back to Springfield.
Vernon County Sheriff Jason Mosher told the News-Leader last week that his deputies will make daily trips to and from Springfield. If no trip is planned for the day, people will be given a bus ticket to Springfield, Mosher said.
It's a plan that Springfield resident Tim Havens can finally approve of. Havens has been a vocal critic of past inmate housing agreements because police did not provide a way for people to return to Springfield after being released from an out-of-county jail, often hours away.
Havens praised council during public hearing for the bill: "This is our fourth try and this proves that patience is a virtue. This shows that much can be accomplished when the city council, city government and citizens work together."
Joplin City Council turned down a request from Springfield to use Joplin City Jail space in November. The proposal was denied in a 7-0 vote, with several Joplin council members citing concerns that Springfield's homeless and indigent would be left wandering the streets of their city.
For months before, Police Chief Williams maintained it was not his department's responsibility to give people rides after they are released from jail. However, his position seemed to soften after Joplin council members voted Springfield's proposal down, saying that he was willing to consider ways to bring people back to the city if they were released out-of-county.
The Vernon County Commission approved the new plan unanimously at the end of November.
So far, about $340,000 of the $500,000 council allocated to inmate housing and transportation has been spent, according to Williams. The police department began shipping inmates out at the end of May.
Williams told council the money will run out in the next couple of months.
"There will need to be more funding if we're going to continue this," Williams said.
City Manager Greg Burris recently recommended that council save $1.7 millionleftover from last year's budget, in part, to help pay for inmate housing.
Normally, the allocation process for carryover money would begin around this time of year. The funds from last time were used to pay for things like buying equipment for law enforcement and hiring consultants.
Other council news
Council members approved a plan to offer property tax abatement to a developer who wants to build fraternity and sorority houses at the corner of Madison Street and Jefferson Avenue.
The rezoning bill for the plan was passed unanimously. However, two council members voted against a related bill that begins the process for giving the developer 100 percent tax abatement on improvements to real estate over ten years.
The "no" votes came from Councilman Mike Schilling and Councilman Craig Hosmer.
Schilling said, "Well, I'm going to have to vote against this because it looks like a risk of subsidizing a private clubhouse rather than regular housing. So, I don't agree with that policy."