COUNTY BUDGET: Sheriff details prison inmate health and food costs and equipment needs

Many of the most expensive items in Bartholomew County government's annual budget come from the sheriff's office and the county jail.

The largest expense in Sheriff Chris Lane's 2025 budget is for medical costs for jail inmates. Last June, Bartholomew County commissioners approved a nearly $1 million-a-year contract to provide 24-hour medical care to jail inmates.

The $996,476 contract with Carmel-based Quality Correctional Care (QCC) for 2025 is substantially higher than the $737,109 it will pay this year or the $702,291 it will pay in 2023 to Franklin, Tennessee-based Advanced Correctional Healthcare (ACH).

However, ACH nurses only worked near-normal hours on weekdays, even though medical care is most often needed at night and on weekends. By hiring ACH, the jail can provide 208 hours of nursing per week, compared to 104 hours when the Tennessee company was under contract, said Bartholomew County Sheriff's Major Brandon Slate.

The medical staff is made up of QCC employees, which relieves taxpayers of the burden of paying salaries and benefits. In addition, 24-hour medical care reduces the likelihood of an inmate suing the district for inadequate medical care.

The second-highest cost is inmate food, which was also outsourced to Florida-based Trinity Service Group in March of last year. While the county will pay $650,000 next year for food, labor, maintenance and supplies for the prison's kitchen, Slate said at a previous meeting that he expects the Trinity contract to save taxpayers about $50,000 annually, Slate said.

By outsourcing, the county has five fewer full-time employees on its payroll, saving taxpayers $259,000 in salaries and up to $282,000 in benefits, Lane said. The council approved the contracts for QCC and Trinity, as well as the commissioners, earlier this year.

In his budget presentation, Lane requested $315,000 to purchase new patrol cars next year and asked the council to increase employer pension contributions by $213,350.

Although he is not requesting any new hires for 2025, Lane is asking for an additional $20,000 in special pay to help his deputies maintain the pay level of Columbus police officers this year.

Specialty allowances are additional money that officers receive for attending specialized training in areas such as water rescue, shooting, use of force, special weapons and tactics (SWAT), and hostage negotiation.

Lane is calling for the first time for special bonuses to be granted to qualified prison staff, which will cost an estimated $18,500. He is also calling for an increase in overtime, which should be accompanied by higher salaries.

Replacing outdated bulletproof vests, required by state and federal law, is expected to cost $60,700 next year. Purchasing new stun guns to replace older, less effective devices will cost $22,520 more than this year, bringing the total cost of new equipment to $60,700.

However, Lane is optimistic that the county will receive a grant to cover half the cost of the vests.