Stafford gets cold feet over inmate fees at regional jail

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors held off on sending a letter to the Board of Local and Regional Jails that would express concerns about an ongoing study into inmate fees.

Under review fees to a telephone, visitation systems, and the cost inmates incur when purchasing items or services from jail commissaries.

According to the Rappahanock Regional Jail, inmates can pay for these goods and services via accounts set up for inmates, where family members and friends can deposit funds.

The Rappahannock Regional Jail Board Authority asked the Stafford County Board of Supervisors to send a letter outlining concerns regarding the study, which is looking into reducing or eliminating fees.

However, the Stafford County Board of Supervisors decided to hold off on sending the letter as some members were concerned about taking a particular position.

Aquia District Supervisor Monica Gary was concerned about its impact on residents with family members under incarceration and the economic effects it would have on them. Gary and Garrisonville District Supervisor Pamela Yueng felt that the letter was unfinished. To Yeung, the letter also seemed as though the Board of Supervisors opposed the study’s recommendations.

“I’m not going to blindly send a letter to the board without knowing what the recommendations are,” said Yeung.

The jail board authority believes that its general fund would be reduced, and the costs of any potential reductions would have to be made up by member localities of the authority, including Stafford.

Stafford, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, and King George are the jurisdictions that have a seat on the jail authority.

The work group performing the study is scheduled to report its findings and recommendations to the Chairman of the House Committee on Rehabilitation and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services in the Virginia General Assembly on December 1, 2022.

The jail board esitmates that the cuts in any of these services or programs could result in a reduction of $2,727,525 from its general fund and its commissary purchase revenue by $625,576. The regional jail would also be required to pay for goods and services that would have been covered by inmate purchase revenues which would amount to $801,159.

The Rappahannock Regional Jail currently operates with a $43 million annual budget which comes from funding from its member localities.

The letter will be brought back as unfinished business at the board’s next meeting on October 4, along with a summation of possible impacts of the jail.