County commissioners voted against using $3.2 million of the county’s timber money to expand jail capacity by 84 beds and hire 30 corrections officers last week, but a fund exchange between the City of Eugene and Lane County could provide the perfect solution to the budget crunch.
The City of Eugene offered to swap $1 million of its general fund for $1 million of the county’s state-allocated road fund money. Lane County Budget Manager David Garnick said the exchange would benefit the county because it would give it more flexibility to spend money on public safety.
“We have done this before and it worked well,” Garnick said.
The county’s road fund money is allocated by the state and must be used to repair or build roads, but Garnick said the county wants money to expand public safety.
In the meantime, Eugene’s general fund can be used on myriad things, including education, road construction and public safety. Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy said the city already intended to use the money to repair roads and decided to assist the county by trading funds.
“The county was in a crisis, and we were willing to help them figure out a solution,” Piercy said. “We still have a lot of road repairs that need to be done, while the commissioners have other ways to pay for roads and are more concerned with making the county safer. The way I look at it is that we are all going to win. If the jail gets more beds, we get a safer community.”
The city and county have agreed that if they exchange funds, it will be under the stipulation that the county will use $2 million of its timber money to increase jail capacity.
Community Relations Director Jan Bohman said Lane County is experiencing more crime growth than surrounding counties, and she is relieved something will be done about it.
“What can we expect when there are a lack of sanctions or consequences for committing crimes?” Bohman said. “Opening up jail beds will help combat crime.”
Lt. Dennis Ewing said since July 2008, the jail has released 3,769 criminals – 140 of whom were convicted of violent felonies.
Florence City Manager Robert Willoughby can speak from experience about how essential it is for criminals to know there are consequences to their actions.
“Because the Lane County jail was so full, there wasn’t any room to hold people with misdemeanors,” he said. “We were being forced to let drunk drivers and people involved in domestic abuses walk out of jail on the night of their arrest. That is when we started paying for six jail beds. Now crime rates are dropping in Florence. People know that there are repercussions for their actions.”
Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson said he sent letters out to 12 cities across Lane County, including Florence, hoping they would also agree to swap general fund money for more specifically allocated county funds.
“It is very important that we continue to protect public services, and I am willing to work hard to ensure Lane County gets the money it needs to ensure public safety,” he said.
Willoughby said he is frustrated by the commissioner’s request.
“First of all, we don’t have a lot of choice in the matter because we don’t have much money to exchange,” Willoughby said. “However, even if we did have the money, it isn’t the job of cities to provide money to the county, especially when they have timber money that they could use.”
Garnick said the timber money is being held on reserve because the county is still unsure how much money the state will cut to county services and wants to combat severe cuts to county school, safety and social service programs.
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