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January 24, 2007
 
Public/Private Partnership Could Build Jail For Less
 
The verdict is in. With inmates sleeping on the floor due to overcrowding, Guilford County sorely needs a new jail. Conditions are not only inhumane and unhealthy, but probably illegal as well. A state jail examiner threatened action more than a year ago, not to mention what the feds may do.

That is why it was especially disappointing to read the short-sighted story, "New jail price tag: $104.8 million" (Jan. 10). After talking to a number of county officials, including the sheriff, on how to pay for a new five-story jail with 1,040 beds, the writer reports that county commissioners are left with only two choices - raise property taxes or increase the sales tax (a short-term one, of course). Either way, tax-weary law-abiding citizens will once again be asked to dig a little deeper into their frayed pockets.

Yet there is another efficient and less costly way to build and pay for a new jail that the article failed to mention. It only requires breaking with the way things have always been done and taking a closer look at the way our own state and others like Virginia and California are financing public facilities without having to ask their voters for a special tax increase.

The best solution to our jail dilemma is to build it with a public/private partnership. Our state has already built several jails using this cost-efficient process. Back in April 2001, a nonprofit foundation based in Baton Rouge, La., formed a subsidiary called Carolina Corrections LLC. It received a contract to build three 1,000-bed prisons in Alexander, Anson, and Scotland counties to be operated by the state Department of Correction.

This successful idea has even spread to schools. The General Assembly boldly passed a bill in July (S.L. 2006-232), which the governor promptly signed into law, that allows new schools to be built using this progressive approach. Already, there is talk in Winston-Salem of building a new arts magnet school using this method even though the new school was included in a $250 million bond referendum passed by voters in November. The thinking is that a private/public partnership to build the school will allow precious bond revenue to be spread around to other schools for further technology improvements.

Following their lead, Guilford County commissioners have a unique opportunity to employ a sound fiscal approach to relieve jail overcrowding well into the future. The simple solution lies in building the jail privately and leasing it back to the county. There are private contractors who specialize in building jails, who have established track records of completing jobs quickly and within budget as compared to government-as-usual construction projects laden with bloated budgets, delays and cost overruns.

This sensible public/private partnership solution for a new jail was given a cursory glance in a News & Record editorial ("A privately built jail?" Dec. 18, 2005). I, and a group of investors, were cited as being proponents of the proposal. Unfortunately, while the editorial thought the idea deserved a fair hearing, it argued that it raised more questions than it answered.

A year has passed and county commissioners and officials are still mulling over old solutions for a recurring problem. Before they ask taxpayers to foot the bill for a $100,769-per-bed jail through higher property taxes or a sales tax, it would be prudent of them to give this practical financing method the justice it is due.
 
Op-ed piece submitted by Patterson Partners Inc. to the Greensboro News and Record, published January 24, 2007.