Sacramento Board of Supervisors partially approves jail expansion plan costing $465 million, expressing concerns about ongoing costs

After a marathon meeting featuring over 150 public commenters, the Sacramento Board of Supervisors has approved part of a $465 million plan to expand the main jail downtown. 

The plan is a response to the 2018 Mays Consent Decree, a court-approved settlement that came out of a lawsuit about county compliance with federal jail standards. A report done by the county, to comply with the consent decree, found that the jail was overcrowded by about 1,000 inmates. It also found the facility was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and was not observing patient privacy laws. It tasked the county with finding ways to improve jail conditions, with a focus on medical care for inmates. 

The Board of Supervisors says the $465 million is the amount necessary to meet the requirements of the consent decree. The county outlined plans to build a separate mental health-focused facility for incarcerees and a new inmate intake building with a medical clinic and separate housing for sick inmates, in addition to a complete building renovation.

“You might hear from some, why are you not keeping individuals in jail? You might hear from others, why are you keeping too many in jail?” said Eric Jones, the county’s Public Safety and Justice director. “This is a balance between proper reforms and a federal consent decree which we must abide by, and doing what’s right, while also balancing community safety.” 

County officials said that the jail expansion will not add inmate beds, as increasing the jail’s capacity would cause the county to be out of compliance again. Supervisors also emphasized that the plan to expand the jail came with a strategy to reduce jail admissions and to shorten the length of inmate stays. In the past few years, the county has added about 75 mental health professionals to help diagnose and treat people who are incarcerated. 

Khalil Ferguson is the founder of the nonprofit Justice 2 Jobs. He and other activists say, with over 70% of the current jail population being pre-trial (meaning they haven’t been charged with a crime), the money could be spent more productively.

“So spending $450 million in prevention and investment in community resources is a much more efficient way to help ensure people don’t go to jail and have mental relapses that cause them to go to jail,” Ferguson said. 

Flojaune Cofer, senior director at the nonprofit organization, Public Health Advocates, called the county’s decision to expand “regrettable.” 

“There are actual solutions to the challenges we have in our communities and they don’t involve warehousing humans,” Cofer said. “Because we built a jail, we think the only option is to expand that jail and use that facility over and over again instead of thinking of a new way to achieve the same sort of thing. There are so many other ways we can spend these dollars.”

County supervisors were divided on the best approach. Some felt improving the current jail, which the board’s staff has indicated is outdated, would be more humane for the current population. Others worried about the huge, ongoing cost to the county that building new facilities would be for years to come. 

“Taking on a mortgage of this size and then recognizing the staffing that will have to go into this, I’m just concerned if we go into this direction, we close out the options of this board next June, and when times get tough, the commitment is one that is for 30 years if not longer,” Fifth District Supervisor Don Nottoli said. 

“There are still people who are going to be incarcerated that are in need of mental health services, that is always going to be the case. Can we do better? Yes, and I think a modern facility to serve the needs of those folks is necessary,” said Second District Supervisor Patrick Kennedy. 

Ultimately, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to immediately move forward with updating the jail to be compliant with the ADA and federal patient privacy law compliant, since not doing so would risk the jail being placed under federal receivership. Supervisors also approved a motion, in a 3-2 vote, to build a health clinic and mental health facility for the main jail, though that exact cost could not yet be determined. The county has said it has $10 million set aside to bring the jail into compliance with both federal laws, but that that amount will not cover the full costs of those upgrades.