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Home My WebLink AboutIR 10116 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10053 s/b 10116 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 20, 2018 ° rte Page 1 of 2 �i �i1 Y SUBJECT: JAIL INTAKE CHANGES AND MANSFIELD CONTRACT r�rA rea Since 2001, the City of Fort Worth (City) has contracted with the City of Mansfield (Mansfield) for Mansfield to provide jail services for the City at the Mansfield Law Enforcement Center (MLEC). These services include processing all persons arrested by the Police Department at 350 Belknap (Intake Facility). The present contract is set to expire on September 30, 2018. Under the contract the City paid $6,975,661.59 in FY2017, and the City is scheduled to pay $7,324,444.67 for FY 2018. Late last year, Sheriff Waybourn announced to all law enforcement agencies in Tarrant County that the Tarrant County Sherriff's Office (TCSO) Jail would begin taking custody of all persons arrested for felonies, Class A and Class B misdemeanors (County charges) upon a probable cause determination from a City Magistrate (the probable cause determination is different from arraignment). This was a significant and welcome change from the TCSO's former procedure. The new procedure took effect on January 2911, 2018. The change in the procedure has not changed the actual numbers of prisoners being processed at the Intake Facility under the contract with Mansfield. All persons arrested (with few exceptions) by FWPD Officers are still processed by MLEC personnel at the Intake Facility. The significant change at this point is the numbers of prisoners that are moved directly to TCSO via the connecting tunnel versus being transported to the MLEC in Mansfield. Jail numbers for the Month of February, 2018; 1 . Total prisoners booked into the FWPD Facility: 2092 2. Total number of prisoners taken to TCSO via tunnel: 831 3. Total number prisoners taken to MLEC in Mansfield: 186 4. Total number of prisoners for Class C arrests only released from FWPD Facility: 1075 ****NOTE**** The month of February is a short month and traditionally one of the slower months of the year for arrests. Based on the current terms of the contracts, we will not see any FY2018 savings based on the reduction in the amount of persons housed at the MLEC since the volume is defined as the number of prisoners at intake rather than the number of prisoners housed. However, we are already seeing some opportunities to reduce costs based on the following: 1 . The elimination in the need for magistration services by municipal court judges at the Intake Facility, although the judges will still make probable cause determinations; this will allow the permanent reduction of two (2) currently vacant judge positions and the reduction in the use of substitute judges since coverage will only be necessary for two shifts versus three. 2. The reduction in overage costs for prisoners held past 5-days before being transferred to TCSO, FY2017's cost for overages were $89,402. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10053 s/b 10116 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 20, 2018 ° rte Page 2 of 2 �i �i1 Y SUBJECT: JAIL INTAKE CHANGES AND MANSFIELD CONTRACT r�rA re�a 3. The reduction of cost for guard services, FY 2017 cost were $9,943. 4. The opportunity to reduce the number of persons processed for out-of-town Class C warrants at the Intake Facilities. With the expiration of the current MLEC contract on October 1 , 2018, there are significant possibilities for future savings based upon reductions of both prisoner intake and prisoner housing at MLEC: 1 . This very preliminary data suggests that we are reducing our transports by more than 80% which will result in operational cost savings to Mansfield. It is staff's intent to monitor additional months' activities and to discuss any potential relief during the current year through a contract amendment due to this dramatic change. Early numbers indicate that approximately half (40-45%) of the prisoner bookings are Class B and above and no longer are being housed at MLEC. If the contract is continued with MLEC beyond the current fiscal year, it is anticipated that the cost structure will be modified to reflect this change. 2. All of the 186 prisoners that were transferred to MLEC in February were for Class C only violations. Almost all of them were for out-of-town Class C warrants. The PD and Municipal Court are currently reviewing their policies concerning arresting and housing other city's Class C warrants as well as looking at ways of reducing the number that are actually booked into the FWPD Facility. A staff committee has been established to review the impact of the magistration changes as they relate to the current and future needs for jail services. The Committee consists of personnel from the Police Department, Municipal Court Services, the Legal Department and the City Manager's Office. We just completed the first full month operating under the new procedure and the committee is gathering the pertinent data to help make decisions for the future. By the end of April, the committee will be prepared to make recommendations to the City Manager and the City Council regarding the future of the contract with Mansfield for FY2019. In addition, the committee will engage in a long-term facility plan to support these processes once the current lease of the Intake Facility lease from Tarrant County ends. Please contact Valerie Washington, Assistant City Manager at 817-392-6192, if you have any additional questions. David Cooke City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS