Jailhouse Paradox

[April 16th, 2008]

Multnomah County Chairman Ted Wheeler’s plan to open Wapato Jail and fulfill a major campaign promise may get an assist from an unexpected player: conservative ballot-measure guru Kevin Mannix.

State elections officials last week approved for the November ballot Mannix’s Initiative 40, which would lock up thousands of first-time offenders. Anticipating a budgetary nightmare if it passed, the Democrat-controlled Legislature has put a softer referral on the same ballot.

Either measure would demand more room in the state’s filled-to-bursting prison system. And that bodes well for Wheeler’s plan for Wapato—which he revealed to WW before its release April 17—because that plan involves renting out jail beds to control long-term costs.

But there’s a paradox. Wheeler opposes both ballot measures, which he sees as bad policy—even as he’s poised to reap the benefits if they pass. (If both pass, the one with the most votes will prevail.)

“I don’t think either proposal is a very good idea,” Wheeler says. “Having said that, if either of them passes, [Oregon Department of Corrections Director] Max Williams is going to need a lot of jail beds, and he’s gonna need them fast. We’ve got jail beds, they need jail beds, so I think there’s an opportunity for negotiation.”

That would be a boost for Wheeler, who has made opening Wapato by September a cornerstone of his year-old administration. A perennial embarrassment for the county, the $58 million jail was completed in 2004 but never opened for lack of operating funds.

When Wheeler rolls out his proposed 2008-09 budget this week, it will include his latest plan for opening Wapato. After weeks of negotiating with the county’s Department of Community Justice, the district attorney’s office, the sheriff’s office and the jail deputies’ union, Wheeler’s proposed budget seeks $6.9 million to pay for 75 medium-security jail beds along with 50 secure treatment beds for drug and alcohol addiction.

It’s a compromise Wheeler says balances the need for treatment beds with the desire to close as few traditional jail beds as possible to pay for them. He says it’s not the last offer but a starting point for further wrangling until the five-member Board of Commissioners approves a final budget in June.

The most likely criticism of Wheeler’s latest plan is the high cost per bed. Because only 125 of Wapato’s 525 beds would be used, it would cost about $215 a day per bed, as opposed to about $110 if the whole jail were open. Renting out the remaining beds is crucial to controlling long-term costs.

Wheeler remains optimistic other jurisdictions will come on board, but not until after Wapato opens. “Different jurisdictions had an interest, but not in helping us open the facility,” Wheeler says. “Nobody wants to bail Multnomah County out, so to speak.”

The crop of potential partners grew thinner last year when Clackamas County forged ahead with plans to build its own new jail. Now, with the two crime-fighting measures on the state ballot, Wheeler is looking to the state as a likely renter.

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Chane Griggs says Williams is seeking where to house additional prisoners if one of the measures passes, and Wapato “will definitely be one of those we will consider.”

Mannix, a Salem lawyer running in the Republican primary to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.), doesn’t fault Wheeler for looking ahead on Wapato.

“He’s trying to take a practical approach to county government,” Mannix says. “I commend him for that. I do think he should take a look at the ballot measures before he takes a stand.”