City reconsidering jail contract with county

The City of Shelton is considering changing its jail contract with Mason County so it no longer pays for empty beds.

The city has been contracting with the Mason County Sheriff's Office for jail services, and currently pays for seven guaranteed beds per day. Five of the beds are reserved for arrestees who are being charged with violations that would be adjudicated in Municipal Court. Inmates are being booked for Class A and B felonies, and now the occasional Class C felony, but not for lesser charges.

Due to those restrictions, "We're paying for seven beds we can't necessarily use," Shelton Police Chief Carole Beason on Jan. 3 told the Shelton City Council.

"Overall, we're paying a flat rate to Mason County for beds we often cannot use," City Manager Jeff Niten said.

Beason suggested the city in a new contract could pay $130 per inmate per day, just like its new contract with the Nisqually Correctional Facility to provide jail beds to arrestees. She said she is negotiating with county officials about a per diem contract. The council voted unanimously to consider the proposal at its upcoming meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The council Dec. 6 unanimously passed the contract with the Nisqually Correctional Facility to pay $130 per day per inmate, with no guaranteed beds. Shelton Police Department employees will drive the inmates to the facility.

The minimum staffing is two employees at a time at the Shelton Police Department, Beason said. A full-duty officer is required for the transportation to the Nisqually Correctional Facility because of the potential danger, she said. The trip takes about 45 minutes each way, Beason said.

The police chief told the council that the previous week, Shelton Police responded to a call about man who was causing a disturbance at Fred Meyer and had vandalized a car. The man is "well known" to officers, she said.

The man ran when police arrived, but was captured, Beason said. The man has two municipal court warrants for his arrest, and four district court warrants, she said.

But the man did not meet the criteria to be booked into Mason County jail, Beason said. The dispatcher said the jail "would not hold this person," she said.

"The sergeant on the scene said, 'That's OK, we're going to take him out to Nisqually, and that (arrestee) yelled and screamed the whole time and said, 'Wait, I never get arrested! You can't take me to jail!' He did in fact go to jail, and he went to Nisqually," she said.

"It sounds like we're well on our way to holding criminals accountable," said Mayor Eric Onisko.

"Yes, we are," Beason said. "I think it will be very optimistic for us moving forward."