Taft, L.A. County reach tentative deal to reopen CCF

Taft's Community Correctional Facility is finally back on track to reopen after a tentative agreement between the City of Taft and the Los Angeles county Sheriff's Office was reached this week.

KGET-TV in Bakersfield, quoting the Los Angeles Daily News, reported Friday morning that it is a 5-year contract for in excess of $70 million.

Taft City councilman Orchel Krier and Chief of Police Ed Whiting confirmed the media accounts Friday.

Krier said the city has reviewed a final draft and returned it to L.A. County.

Final changes were made and the agreement has been accepted by both sides the Midway Driller was told.

The Taft City Council is going to hold a special meeting on Monday at 5 p.m. to approve the contract and it will go before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

Whiting and Mayor Pro Tem Paul Linder will be at the Los Angeles Tuesday meeting, Whiting said.

Whiting said the CCF could start taking inmates early next month.

"We project a Sept. 10 opening with half staff and half capacity," Whiting said. "Thirty days after we open, we can go from half to full capacity."

About half of the former staff of 50 employees laid off when the state removed inmates last fall have indicated they want to come back to work, and Whiting said they could be rehired immediately.

More applications are on file, but those applicants will have to undergo background checks and training before then can go to work, Whiting said.

That part of the process could go quickly

"We have anticipated as much as we can anticipate and we have applications on file," the chief said.

Both Krier and Whiting said it's a good deal for the city, which lost a major source of revenue, nearly 50 jobs and an important labor source when the state removed its inmates last fall under the realignment of 109.

"It is a good deal for the city," Whiting said. "It gets people back to work. It will help the city financially We'll also have inmate labor to clean up the alleys, the streets and the parks."

The loss of the CCF was a major financial strain on the city, costing it more than $700,000 in revenue over the past 10 months plus more than $500,000 paid out in unemployment benefits to CCF staff that was laid off.

A key part of the contract includes approximately $475,000 in up-front money from L.A. County to help cover the start up costs for the CCF.