(July 16, 2008)—McLennan County Sheriff Larry Lynch hasn’t attended recent meetings of the county’s commissioner court at which proposals to privatize some or all of the county’s jail operations have been discussed, and he hasn’t commented on the proposals commissioners are considering.

Lynch broke his silence Wednesday as he issued a brief statement in which he said, “At this point I have made no decision on which option is best for everyone involved. I cannot make an informed decision until I have all the facts before me.”

McLennan County sent requests to 14 vendors around the country for plans to ease overcrowding in the county’s jail facilities, but when the deadline arrived on July 8, there was just one response on the table when county commissioners sat down to begin to review proposals, and it was from the company that now leases the county’s old downtown jail.

This Tuesday, County Judge Jim Lewis and commissioners Wendall Crunk and Ray Meadows voted to proceed with discussions with the company, but commissioners Lester Gibson and Joe Mashek opposed taking the next step without Lynch’s approval, which is required for the county to enter into a contact with a private detention firm.

In the statement issued Wednesday, Lynch said he has to balance his obligation to local taxpayers with his obligations to “the men and women that I work with daily at the Sheriff’s Office.”

“There must be a fair balance between these two obligations,” Lynch said.

“As sheriff of this county, I must always determine what is best for the community and for the employees. It is not about what is best for one group over another. The bottom line is public safety,” Lynch said.

Commissioners are considering four options to ease jail overcrowding.

The first involves having a private firm build and operate the new jail, but for the county to continue to run the Highway 6 and downtown jail facilities.

The second involves having a private firm build and operate the new jail and to operate the downtown jail.

The third involves having a private firm build and operate the new jail and to contract with a private firm to operate both the Highway 6 and downtown jails.

The fourth proposal involves a contract with a private firm to build the new jail and to take over operations for all of the county’s jail facilities.

“The (commissioners) court must decide which option is appropriate for McLennan County,” Lynch said.

The only proposal commissioners received came from Community Education Centers, which used to be known as CiviGenics.

It has leased the county’s downtown jail facility since 1999, but because of overcrowding in the county-operated jail on Highway 6, the county has been paying the company to hold prisoners there, which cuts into the $1 million a year CEC pays for use of the facility.

Among CEC’s secure facilities are the Limestone County Detention Center and the Falls County Jail and Detention Center in Marlin.

County commissioners are hoping that a privately constructed jail will help them avoid a bond election and a tax increase, but McLennan County jailers and other opponents of privatization turned argue against turning jail operations over to for-profit companies.

"It's a public safety concern,” said Ken Witt, president of the McLennan County Sheriff’s Officers Association.

Witt is also concerned that a private takeover would jeopardize his job and those of 200 other current county jail employees.

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