that were once held at the jail.
Jalen Anderson, County Legislator, said part of this discussion needs to
include consideration of criminal justice reforms. These discussions are
needed to reduce the number of people incarcerated. He is concerned
that no matter how large the detention center is, the number of
incarcerated people will expand to fill that space.
Jennifer Dameron said the validation of needs study presented by JCDC
Partners LLC counters that assertion.
Megan L. Marshall, County Legislator, said she is not clear about the
current number of people incarcerated at the jail at any given time. Jean
Peters Baker said this is difficult to determine. The system in place is to
use a hand-held clicker to count people. This system is insufficient to give
detailed information. A new system to manage the jail population was
tabled when plans were made for a new jail. Jean Peters Baker said it was
discovered that the intake process was difficult and stressful. Employees
would frequently override the system as they were trying to get through the
intake process timely, which made it difficult to have accurate head counts.
DaRon McGee opened the public hearing on Ordinance #5738. There
were no public comments. Jalen Anderson asked how this request came
about. Troy Schulte, County Administrator, said the City of Kansas City is
the major sponsor for this event. The NFL Draft in Kansas City will have a
great economic impact on the region. The Greater Kansas City Sports
Commission asked for sponsorship to offset some of its costs. Jackson
County as a whole will benefit.
Ordinance #5738 was adopted at this time. See page 10 for details.
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COMMUNICATIONS WITH AND REPORTS OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Frank White, Jr., County Executive, said he has listened to the testimony
regarding the recommendations on the new jail. County Administrator
Troy Schulte has given his background and opinion about the facility, how
much it will cost, how many beds are needed, and what the County can
afford. He hopes everyone is focusing on the budget and what is needed
to move forward on the jail project. When he came into office, he promised
taxpayers he would not ask the taxpayers for a new tax to pay for the
facility. The longer the County waits, the more this process is threatened.
His hope is today that the Legislature moves forward. The new detention
center is needed and the County is getting to a point where the only way to
build the jail is with a new tax. He hopes the County comes out of this
today with consensus that gets people to work and gets the new jail built.
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PERFECTION OF PROPOSED ORDINANCES AND REPORTS OF COMMITTEE