By Brad Branan
bbranan@sacbee.com
Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said he will ask the Board of Supervisors next month to approve an application to the state for $100 million to expand the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center.
Under a bill approved by state lawmakers, the county would have to pay $10 million in matching funds.
While the application was sparked by the shift of state offenders to the counties in October, the county would need the additional jail space regardless, Jones said. The downtown Sacramento jail and the one near Elk Grove have long been running near capacity.
Jones said he is working with county staff to identify funding for the county match. The application will have to include a commitment to the match and identity funding sources.
The county would have to pay another $10 million in operational costs.
The county is in its fourth straight year of budget cuts. Jones said he realizes its a bad time to ask for money but the opportunity is too good to pass.
Jones also told the supervisors he wanted to move the debate about the jail funds away from the debate over services versus incarceration, which dominated the discussion over how to handle new offenders from the state.
The county needs more jail space in the future regardless, he said.
The expanded jail would add 384 beds, a kitchen, mental health and medical treatment and other features.
The state has set a Jan. 11 deadline for the $600 million available. Jones said he expects the state's biggest counties to apply.
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