PORTLAND, Ore. — Without intervention, Multnomah County could abruptly lose about a fifth of its jail capacity due to a looming $3.4 million budget shortfall this year, according to a spokesman for the county sheriff's office.
That funding threatens about 219 of the county's jail beds, including positions of 17 corrections deputies and other staff necessary to supervise and support those beds.
"If funding remains unchanged, we would see a one-fifth reduction in jail beds, from 1,130 (current capacity) to 911," Deputy John Plock wrote in an email. A reduction of that size, he added, would put Multnomah County's corrections system in an immediate population emergency.
Plock attributed the shortfall to "funding decisions by state lawmakers" related to Senate Bill 1145, passed back in 1995, which saddled counties with housing certain inmates who previously would have been in Oregon Department of Corrections custody.
While the bill was accompanied by state funding for each biennium, Multnomah County says that they've been chronically underfunded in terms of real costs. The county has approved increases to the sheriff's office budget, but state contributions have knowingly failed to keep pace.
In a Tuesday board briefing, Multnomah County staffers explained the reason for the drop-off in state funding. While SB 1145 guaranteed a set amount of funding each year pegged to inflation, it did not account for county-level wage increases for staff and other costs that have gone up over the years.
Lawmakers have also failed to account for the changing landscape of addiction and mental health issues among the jail population, staffers testified, which require greater attention and care — particularly if the corrections system intends to be an effective participant in recovery and reducing recidivism, something that the state has added requirements around.
A capacity crisis
The county's current plan calls for emergency releases when jails reach 95% of capacity — essentially, inmates being held on less serious charges will need to be let out in order to make room for new bookings once a jail has reached that capacity.
As of Sunday at 10 p.m., Plock said, Multnomah County had 948 adults in custody. With a one-fifth reduction, the jails would have been over-capacity at 105% of total beds, requiring a number of releases.
County commissioners are expected to approve one-time contingency funds to make up for the budget shortfall this year. But if the state does not address the budget shortfall by the end of this fiscal year — June 30, 2024 — Plock said that Multnomah County will be in the same position again next year.
The board has indicated that they'll approve $3 million in contingency funds, but MCSO has asked that they approve an additional $418,000 to add two corrections counselors and a records technician.
Just last week, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office reversed a COVID-era policy that placed limits on booking criteria, meaning some suspects were not being booked into jail who previously would have been in an effort to reduce the number of people in custody. Now, anyone arrested in Multnomah County for a felony or misdemeanor offense can be booked into jail.
