MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Monday, the Shelby County Commission voted to send the sheriff’s office's request for $15.5 million dollars to fix the jail back to committee by a vote of 7-6.
On Sept. 4, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office went before county commissioners requesting the money, which they say they need to take care of emergency issues at the jail.
“We have $15 million worth of immediate repairs that we need to take care of today,” said Chief Deputy Anthony Buckner.
Those issues include a dilapidated jail kitchen, plumbing, air conditioner and severe electrical issues, as well as more than 600 doors that need to be replaced.
But local activists and even Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris believe the money is needed elsewhere.
“Those things didn’t just happen overnight,” said Tikeila Rucker of the Justice & Safety Alliance. “That takes time for the kitchen and the plumbing and the different systems to wear out. And so those things should have been dealt with properly leading up until now.”
The Justice & Safety Alliance for things like violence intervention and restorative justice programs, as well as the expansion of mental health services and re-entry programs for at-risk youth.
“Our hope is that we will begin to shift our mindset around what justice and safety looks like in our community by focusing on more preventative measures,” Rucker said.
The sheriff's office said it needs this money immediately to start work before a state inspection later in September that, if they fail, could lead to the jail’s decertification.
“We’ve got crews lined up, ready to start working, but we got to have funding to pay them,” Buckner said. “So we want to make sure we are doing right by our citizens and that we’re doing right by the inmates.”
Rucker thinks the state should see the conditions of the jail as it is.
“They’re trying to prevent getting a slap on the wrist, which is what they need,” she said. “The state needs to come in and observe and audit and see what’s going on within this system. They don’t need to be bailed out again at this time.”
Rucker said she would be open to a compromise where the sheriff’s department gets enough money to improve inmate conditions, but only with the proper oversight.
Buckner said that the sheriff's office still wants a new jail built, and this $15.5 million is part of what they need to keep the current jail running until then.
Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner declined to speak to media after the vote.
The next committee meeting is Sept. 18 at 8:30 a.m.