The Lincoln and Sagadahoc Multicounty Jail Authority Board of Directors discussed the future of the Maine Board of Corrections and how it affects Two Bridges Regional Jail during a board meeting Jan. 14.

Board of Corrections Chairman and Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry also sits on the jail authority board of directors.

Merry announced at the meeting, the board of corrections cannot conduct business due to the recent resignation of board member and Waldo County Commissioner Amy Fowler, which left only two members on the five-member panel - Merry and Carleton Barnes Jr., of Lisbon.

The board's only two staffers, financial analyst Mallory Pollard and executive director Ryan Thornell, have also given their notices. Pollard resigned in mid-December 2014. Thornell will leave Jan. 28.

Last Wednesday, Thornell sent a memo to leaders in every county, suspending all future board meetings. Without a quorum the board cannot act, and without the board, there is no structure in place to oversee the county jail system or deal with funding issues.

During the time the Board of Corrections is unable to conduct business, it will be the responsibility of Maine Department of Corrections Commissioner Joseph Fitzpatrick to manage inmate bed space throughout the corrections system and direct the transfer of county inmates between the county jails, according to Merry.

The board of corrections has instructed the county jails to contact Fitzpatrick in the event there is a need to resolve issues pertaining to inmate bed space or the transfer of inmates between jails.

A series of legislative actions since 2003 have created the position in which the Board of Corrections now finds itself.

In 2003, the Legislature passed a bill to create a regional jail authority, allowing Two Bridges Regional Jail to be built to serve Lincoln and Sagadahoc offenders, supported by the taxpayers of both counties.

In 2008, legislation was passed for the purpose of reducing the cost of county corrections for Maine.

This legislation created the Board of Corrections and capped the amount counties can raise from taxes for corrections, with the state to make up the difference with quarterly payments to the counties.

On May 1, 2014, the legislation was again revised. The revision changed the membership of the Board of Corrections from nine to five, with two appointments on the board to be made by the governor. The governor has not made any appointments.

According to Merry, he sent letters to Gov. Paul LePage May 6 and Nov. 20, 2014, asking the governor to make the appointments to fill the vacancies on the board.

Merry has sent a third letter, dated Jan. 14, to the governor, Speaker of the House Rep. Mark Eves, President of the Senate Michael Thibodeau, and Department of Corrections Commissioner Joseph Fitzpatrick, informing them the Board of Corrections lacks the authority to carry out its legislative mandate to manage the county corrections system.
 

In Merry's letter, he asked LePage to "Quickly remedy the quorum problem faced by the board. All that is required is for the governor to appoint to the board the two executive branch representatives."

Merry has asked the Legislature, should the governor not fill the vacancies, to enact emergency legislation to modify the existing law so the Board of Corrections can regain the ability to carry out its function.

Merry recommends the Legislature could enact legislation that changes the composition and or the quorum of the Board of Corrections. Merry also suggested in his letter that the Legislature could overhaul the county jail system or return control to the counties.

"Whatever path the Legislature chooses, it needs to act quickly in the event that the governor does not fill the vacancies on the board," Merry said in his letter.

Merry also cautioned the governor and the Legislature failure to act on this issue could impact public safety. Some county jails are seriously overcrowded, some are unable to hire qualified corrections officers, and some will run out of funds as early as March 2015, according to Merry.

Merry ended his letter by saying, "The people of Maine need you to act immediately."

After hearing the report from the Board of Corrections chairman and the lack of gubernatorial appointments to the Board of Corrections, it was clear the authority members were looking to a future without the state board.

Sagadahoc County Administrator Pam Hull, an alternate director on the authority, suggested working with other counties to consolidate jail services should the Board of Corrections fail.

Lincoln County Administrator John O'Connell said Two Bridges could operate independently.

We could stand alone. Unfortunately, no one in the room knows what the Legislature will do," O'Connell said.

After further discussion, the authority decided to contact Lincoln and Sagadahoc County legislators to inform them of the serious issues facing the county jails in the state.

The next scheduled meeting was to be March 11, but the board decided to tentatively schedule a meeting for Feb. 11 in the event it is needed to discuss the issues facing the Board of Corrections, the county jail system, and the impact to Two Bridges.