GRANITE FALLS – Some inmates get sent up the river. In Granite Falls, they may be put on a ferry and sent about 161 miles west to Forks.
In a plan approved Wednesday by the City Council, Granite Falls is expected to sign a contract with Forks to send long-term jail inmates there in an effort to save money, Police Chief Tony Domish said.
Granite Falls currently contracts with the Snohomish County Jail, which charges about $57 a day plus a one-time $87 booking fee to house inmates, Domish said.
Housing inmates in Forks will cost about $13 less, or about $45 a day.
The difference will add up fast, Domish said.
“It comes down to trying to find ways to save money so I can get people hired,” he said.
Domish said he hopes to add two more officers to the current force of four.
Cities run into costly scenarios when, for example, they arrest a drunken driver. If it’s the person’s fourth such arrest, state law requires a mandatory yearlong sentence, Domish said.
Cities must pay to house inmates for misdemeanor offenses within the city limits. The maximum sentence for misdemeanors is one year, the chief said.
He said inmates sentenced to 60 days or more would be sent to Forks.
In 2005, Granite Falls spent more than $116,000 dollars to house inmates. Through June, the city already has spent about $48,000, Domish said.
There’s nothing wrong with the Snohomish County Jail or its services, he said. Forks simply is less expensive.
“And they’re willing to transport,” he said.
The deal worked out with Forks would have prisoners picked up on either side of the Edmonds-Kingston ferry run. Both agencies would trade off making the 30-minute, 5-mile crossing, he said.
Forks already travels long distances to pick up inmates, Chief Mike Powell said.
About 20 cities from around western Washington – as far away as Westport, 129 miles south, or Tieton, 290 miles east – already contract with the city, he said.
The trip from Granite Falls to Forks is about 156 miles over land plus the ferry ride.
Granite Falls isn’t the first Snohomish County city to go far to save jail costs.
Marysville, which operates its own jail, sends inmates sentenced longer than 30 days to the Chelan County Jail in Wenatchee, about 127 miles away, Cmdr. Ralph Krusey said.
Marysville provides jail services for Lake Stevens, Arlington and several area tribes at $50 a day, $40 if inmates are sent to Chelan, he said.
Granite Falls will continue to use the Snohomish County Jail for short-term sentences, Domish said.
Snohomish County Corrections spokesman Jim Harms said the county jail contract with area cities is not exclusive.
“If they determine they can get a better rate someplace else, then it’s their decision to do that,” he said.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@ heraldnet.com.
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