The Solon Jail has reached a milestone with revenues generated, primarily by housing other cities’ prisoners, along with their own. Tom Jewell/Special to cleveland.com
SOLON, Ohio — The city’s jail has reached a milestone, in terms of revenue over costs.
Solon Police Chief Christopher Viland told City Council’s Safety and Public Properties Committee last week that the jail is operating at a net cost that is the lowest it’s been since 2004.
“As of this year, we have successfully generated enough revenue out of the jail so that, for all intents and purposes, the facility will have paid for itself,” Viland said Feb. 8.
Viland noted that there’s “always a debate about whether that’s a good thing,” but he thanked council for the expenditures it has authorized for personnel.
Year-end statistics were still being compiled for 2016, and expenses were listed at about $125,000, although they did not include personnel costs — which would have been paid even if Solon was just housing its own prisoners.
Almost entirely by housing inmates from other cities, revenues are projected at nearly $440,000 for last year.
Twinsburg and Shaker Heights are the biggest customers, with the latter having inked a three-year deal in August 2015 for almost $800,000 total to house Shaker’s prisoners in Solon.
It worked out to about $264,000 a year, or $22,000 a month, which was projected to still save money, since Shaker was allocating $350,000 a year for operating its own antiquated jail.
Year-end totals were still being put together, and Solon still had the most prisoners in the month of December with 50, compared to 35 from Shaker and 19 from Twinsburg, the next highest monthly total being five under the “Pay to Stay” plan.
Of the nearly $435,500 accrued in total inmate housing revenue for 2016, more than $366,000 had been received, with about $70,000 outstanding.
“When I look at those numbers, I hate to say ‘good job,” Councilwoman Nancy Meany. “There were many questions years ago about ‘should we have done the jail?’ But this does show that it has been a good thing.”
According to the police department’s website, the Solon Detention Facility is a full-service, 26-bed jail. Fourteen of the beds are considered single-cell maximum security and 12 beds are dormitory-style housing.
Sentenced misdemeanor offenders can be incarcerated in the facility for up to one year, while sentenced fourth- and fifth-degree felony offenders can serve up to 18 months there.
In other business at the Safety and Public Properties Committee meeting, City Parks and Recreation Manager Rich Conklin asked for council to prepare legislation to go to bid on the Solon Community Park tennis court renovation project.
The project is budgeted for $250,000 in the 2017 capital improvements budget and the Solon City Schools will also contribute an additional one-third of the total cost of the project.
Responding to a question from Meany, Conklin said plans call for all 12 courts to be renovated this year, in a two-phase project lasting 8-10 weeks, with six of the courts being done at one time to allow play to continue on the other side of the complex.
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