Inmates at the Chelan County Regional Justice Center wait for an inspection on May 9, 2019. They are expected to be out of bed, dressed, have their cell clean and their personal belongings in a plastic tub at the foot of their bed.
Inmates at the Chelan County Regional Justice Center wait for an inspection on May 9, 2019. They are expected to be out of bed, dressed, have their cell clean and their personal belongings in a plastic tub at the foot of their bed.
EAST WENATCHEE — The East Wenatchee City Council approved a renewal of their contract with the Chelan County Regional Justice Center at a 91% increase from the prior contract.
The city’s current agreement expired at the end of the year. This latest contract would last through 2026 — $965,000 for 2024, $1.01 million for 2025 and $1.06 million for 2026. The contract totals at approximately $3.04 million for three years.
The contract represents nearly 10% of the city’s general fund budget but is really the city’s only viable option to jail arrested individuals.
Josh DeLay, the city’s finance director, said in an email that the fee the city pays is made up of two parts.
The first part is the “base fee,” which is calculated from a portion of the jail’s total budget and is passed on “to its users to ‘keep the lights on’ as the jail says,” DeLay said.
The second part is the amount paid per daily bed. The city will be paying a daily bed rate of $164.18 based on an average daily population at the jail of 7.82, which is up from five in the previous contract.
Per the jail’s calculations, the city’s booking rate has increased from 9.6% to 11.69%, according to DeLay. The increase from the first year of the contract to 2026 is the result of a 5% annual rate increase.
The justice center is the only jail in the two-county area. The nearest jails outside the area are located in Grant and Okanogan counties.
East Wenatchee Police Department Chief Rick Johnson said at the Dec. 5 city council meeting that they’ve looked at the possibility of using Okanogan County’s jail but it’s too far away and would not be cost-effective.
Douglas County used to contract with Okanogan County to jail their arrested individuals at their jail.
But county commissioners cut their contract short with the jail after a two-month dispute in February 2022, citing “COVID-19-related mitigation measures, staff and inmate health, an aging and inadequate facility, and a critical shortage of staff, have caused significant operational concerns, as well as a reduced ability to provide adequate facilities.”
Douglas County commissioners currently contract with Chelan County to use the justice center.
At the December meeting, Johnson added that Grant County is building a new jail that will be completed in two years.
So while city staff continue to seek new options, the city doesn’t “really have a choice right now,” DeLay said.
The East Wenatchee City Council passed its 2024 budget in November including the imposition of a new 10% garbage, sewer and water utility tax, which is budgeted to bring in the city an additional $1.5 million in revenues.
“An increase in revenue sources is something we’ve seen coming for a while, and utility taxes were one revenue source under consideration along with other options,” DeLay said. “Learning about this 91% increase in August expedited our plans by one to two years by my estimation.”
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