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The are “no guarantees” that the city's community correctional facility, which provides dozens of jobs and adds hundreds of thousands of dollars to the city's coffers, will remain open continuously once the state removes its last inmate and stops paying the city to operate it by the end of November.
That's just two months away.
Discussions with outside counties to house inmates they can't house themselves when the counties start receiving prisoners that used to go to state prisons have yet to produce a contract, Taft Chief of Police Ken McMinn said.
McMinn, who oversees operation of the Taft CCF, said he is optimistic the city will be housing inmates – and getting by for it – from other counties at some point, but said Thursday that there “are no guarantees” that the facility will fill up with inmates from other counties as soon as the state inmates leave.
“We have contacts with other counties (but) we're still in the early stages of negotiations,” McMinn said.
While the city hopes for the best – a seamless transition from housing inmates through a contract with the California Department of Corrections and rehabilitation to contracts with individual counties that could potentially bring even more money into the city, it is also preparing for the worst.
The loss of inmates would mean the loss of inmate laborers that perform a variety of jobs for the city and other public agencies, including custodial work, maintenance, and work in the street department and city garage.
The Taft City Council in August approved creating temporary extra-help maintenance positions.
In addition, the council has met in closed session twice to discuss the employee situation at the CCF and the possibility that employees may have to be formally notified that layoffs or furloughs are possible.
McMinn said he is sure that inmate labor will be available once new contracts are signed.
The city has not disclosed publicly which counties it has negotiated with.
One county the city has not talked with is Kern County.
That's because Sheriff Donny Youngblood has said he will not be sending any inmates put into the county's custody to CCFs.
The are “no guarantees” that the city's community correctional facility, which provides dozens of jobs and adds hundreds of thousands of dollars to the city's coffers, will remain open continuously once the state removes its last inmate and stops paying the city to operate it by the end of November.
That's just two months away.
Discussions with outside counties to house inmates they can't house themselves when the counties start receiving prisoners that used to go to state prisons have yet to produce a contract, Taft Chief of Police Ken McMinn said.
McMinn, who oversees operation of the Taft CCF, said he is optimistic the city will be housing inmates – and getting by for it – from other counties at some point, but said Thursday that there “are no guarantees” that the facility will fill up with inmates from other counties as soon as the state inmates leave.
“We have contacts with other counties (but) we're still in the early stages of negotiations,” McMinn said.
While the city hopes for the best – a seamless transition from housing inmates through a contract with the California Department of Corrections and rehabilitation to contracts with individual counties that could potentially bring even more money into the city, it is also preparing for the worst.
The loss of inmates would mean the loss of inmate laborers that perform a variety of jobs for the city and other public agencies, including custodial work, maintenance, and work in the street department and city garage.
The Taft City Council in August approved creating temporary extra-help maintenance positions.
In addition, the council has met in closed session twice to discuss the employee situation at the CCF and the possibility that employees may have to be formally notified that layoffs or furloughs are possible.
McMinn said he is sure that inmate labor will be available once new contracts are signed.
The city has not disclosed publicly which counties it has negotiated with.
One county the city has not talked with is Kern County.
That's because Sheriff Donny Youngblood has said he will not be sending any inmates put into the county's custody to CCFs.
