Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 13, 1993 TAG: 9304130216
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
TOWN SAYS COUNTY NOT HONORING MAGISTRATE PROGRAM
Town Council has drafted a resolution criticizing the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Ken Phipps for not honoring a contract to staff a jail annex and electronic magistrate program in Blacksburg."This Council objects to the Sherriff's erratic or non-existent staffing and operation of the jail annex," said the resolution which will be discussed at tonight's Council meeting.
The lockup, opened in June 1991, is equipped with a fiber optic closed-circuit television link with the county magistrate's office so prisoners don't have to be taken to Christiansburg for processing.
The electronic magistrate, according to the resolution, has saved the town more than 2,000 work hours and $12,000 in vehicle maintenance per year. The average time it takes a Blacksburg officer to make an arrest has been cut from 90 minutes to 32 minutes, said Police Chief Don Carey.
The town spent about $100,000 for the jail annex and electronic magistrate and provided $15,000 a year toward the operation of the program.
Montgomery County spent roughly $65,000 for the facilities and agreed to staff the jail annex 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
But last September, county officials gave the required 12-month notice to terminate its contract to staff the facility. The contract will expire Oct. 1.
The county's reasons for pulling out of the contract are the state Compensation Board's refusal to pay for jailers to operate the lockup and state cutbacks in funding for the jail staff in Christiansburg, said the letter from Phipps and Supervisors Chairman Ira Long.
Since announcing that it would terminate the contract, the county has staffed the facility less than 50 percent of the time, said Blacksburg Town Manager Ron Secrist.
Secrist said the Town Council requested the resolution as a way to "publicly articulate" the town's dissatisfaction in the county's handling of the contract.
The resolution also urges the county to continue negotiations with Blacksburg for a contract that will allow the electronic magistrate and lock-up program to continue.
The town cannot take over operation of the lockup because its police officers don't have the certification to be jailers.
Phipps said the electronic magistrate serves Blacksburg well, but that he doesn't have enough officers to staff the facility around the clock.
The county has an average of 14 more prisoners a day than it did in 1991, Phipps said.
"We have a real situation on our hands," he said. "I can just barely staff my own facility in Christiansburg."
Phipps also pointed out that the agreement between the county and town was signed during the tenure of his predecessor, Sheriff Louis Barber.
"They don't seem to understand the situation," he said. "I didn't even sign that doggone contract in the first place."
Phipps said the county is trying to staff the jail annex Thursday through Sunday because those are the peak times for arrests in Blacksburg.
The sheriff said the electronic magistrate program could be continued past October if the state approves funds for more jailers.
"It's a handy program for Blacksburg and we don't want to shut it down," he said.