Budget Issues Could Determine Where County Will House Sex Offenders

by Samuel King (king@wsbt.com)

Tools

Andrew Kostielney and Judge Michael Gotsch

Andrew Kostielney (left) and Judge Michael Gotsch (right), with the Commmunity Corrections Program of St. Joseph County, discuss the county budget's impact on the plan for housing sex offenders. (WSBT photo)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Dec 3, 2007 at 6:57 PM EST

Story Updated: Dec 19, 2007 at 12:31 PM EST

(WSBT) Budget concerns could have a major impact on where sex offenders live in our community.

Multimedia

Watch The Video

A proposed work release center may be part of a multi-million dollar bond issue voters could decide on next year.

But four other projects are also included.

County officials have yet to decide who gets how much.

One of the potential sites for the work release center is near the South Bend Regional Airport. That’s where the community corrections board wanted to put the site before the state changed its mind about providing more than $1 million in funding.

It could still be built there, but what it look like will depend on how much money is available.

“We're in a financially tight situation, so it's very difficult to say, ‘Hey, we've got money,’” said County Commissioner Steve Ross.

But there may be just enough to help build a work release center somewhere in the county.

The community corrections board says it may have to scale back the plans, but says something is better than nothing.

“After about five years of trying to get the t's crossed and the i's dotted, I think that we're at the point where we need to say the safety of the community comes first,” said Dr. Bill Bruinsma, President of the Community Corrections Board.

Dr. Bruinsma says sex offenders would likely be the top priority for projects in a scaled down plan.

“We need some facility that is going to handle that kind of person coming out of DOC,” he said.

Ross says Gov. Daniels' property tax plan could also have an effect on the bond issue, leaving the county with some difficult choices.

“Now, what they're saying is, you can't add that on to the tax bill anymore, it's going to come from the bottom line of your operating income, so that means there's less money left to operate county government,” Ross explained. “That's going to be absolutely disastrous.”

The county commissioners hope to have the bond proposal completed in the next few months. The County Council still has to approve a bond.

More Good Stuff

WSBT Weather

Current Temp 47.5

More Weather

WSBT Weather

More Weather

On Demand

iPhone
Get the WSBT News and Irish Sports Report apps for your iPhone! Read more »
On DVD
Order a DVD of a WSBT news story! Read more »
Twitter
Follow us on Twitter! Read more »
Facebook
Connect with us on Facebook! Read more »
WSBT E-News
Daily StormTracker e-mails right to your Inbox! Read more »
Video On Demand
Miss a story on WSBT News? Watch it here! Read more »
CBS Shows
Watch CBS shows and news online, free! Read more »
WSBT Alert
Breaking News & Weather right to your cell phone! Read more »
Mobile
WSBT News on the go for your cell phone or PDA. Read more »
RSS Feeds
Get news and updates as soon as they're published. Read more »

Stock Quotes

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.