The need for a new jail is not going away and is only going to get worse, Douglas County Sheriff Phil Miller told a Board of Commissioners (BOC) work session Monday.

He said the jail inmate population has been over 800 for the past 60 days, and the number being sent out to other counties is growing. The jail is designed for a maximum of about 485 inmates, based on American Jail Association guidelines, according to Miller.

Miller was addressing an item on today’s 10 a.m. BOC agenda which will place a one-cent special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) question on the Nov. 3 ballot.

“I’d love to tell you that we don’t need a jail,” Miller said. “I’d rather build a park or something else, but it’s now a necessity. As government officials, we can’t bury our heads in the sand and hope it goes away.”

He said the county is now sending 50 inmates to Irwin County at a cost of $45 per day, per inmate. This costs the county $2,250 per day and the number of inmates farmed out could reach 100 per day by next year, he warned.

Miller said the county hasn’t housed any federal prisoners since the 1990s, but it’s obligated to house convicted state prisoners until they can be picked up by the prison system. He said the state picked up 50 inmates last week.

“We have more state inmates in county jails than ever before in Georgia history,” he said.

He noted that every county grand jury since the jail annex was built has recommended building a new jail.

“We have four inmates in each six-by-10-foot cell and we’ve put bunks in every nook and cranny,” Miller said. “Our biggest problem is that we can’t isolate violent and non-violent inmates. We have fights, and attacks on jailers has increased 100 percent. When one of them (jailers) gets killed, it’s going to be too late.”

In response to a question from District 4 Commissioner David Latham on the cost of operating a new jail, County Administrator Eric Linton said the new facility would add no costs for the first three years. He said the rise in power costs for a larger facility would be offset by the savings from no longer having to send inmates to other counties and the reduction in maintenance costs.

Chief Deputy Stan Copeland said the pod design of the new jail would allow more inmates to be supervised by fewer employees.

“We can use the same amount of staffing as now, until the population grows and we have to open a new floor,” Copeland said.

He also echoed the sheriff’s concerns about not being able to separate violent and non-violent imates. He said the problem is particularly bad in the women’s dorm where all female inmates are housed.

“We have female shoplifters in the same dorm with women convicted of murder,” he said.

Copeland said he and Major M.O. Harper review the inmate population every day to see if there are any inmates who have bond but can’t make the costs.

“We take steps to get them out of jail,” he said. “The people in jail without bond are there because they committed violent crimes or are repeat violators. We’re not going to release violent criminals out in the community with ankle bracelets to cut off.”

Miller said about 70 percent of inmates are non-county residents, who come into the county to commit burglaries, robberies and murders.

District 3 Commissioner Kelly Robinson said he’d experienced crime from having his home broken into and he appreciates the sheriff’s position. However, he said he wants to see more analysis on how the jail can be operated without having to raise taxes.

“If we don’t get the math right, we’re going to have a problem in two to three years,” Robinson said.

Commission Chairman Tom Worthan said the county has put together cost estimates for jail operations as best it can without hiring a consultant to do a study.

“I don’t know if it’s in the best interests of the county to pay $40 to $60 thousand for a study,” he said.

Approval of the SPLOST agenda item today will specify the proposed terms of the sales tax and related bond issue and give the exact ballot wording.