Billings is Dealing with Jail Overcrowding, Short Term Facility
Communities all across Montana are dealing with overcrowded jails. Here's what is being done in Billings to try and help tackle the problem in the short term. Plus, why did people in Montana's largest get hit with insanely high water bills?
We caught up with Billings City Councilmember Jennifer Owen Monday morning to talk about the new agreement between the city and Yellowstone County that will provide for a short term detention facility to address jail overcrowding.
The City of Billings and Yellowstone County have agreed to build a short-term detention facility to address jail overcrowding and public safety concerns. The project, funded by a 50-50 cost-share between the city and county, will cost about $6 million and provide 70-90 beds. Owen says the city is using property tax and marijuana tax revenue to pay for the facility.
Jennifer Owen: "What this facility is really going to do is return the tool of arrest to our frontline police officers and sheriff's deputies. Right now, because of the overcrowding at Yellowstone County Detention Facility, far too many people are committing crimes and getting notices to appear, and then they just don't appear. This facility is designed to hold people until their initial appearance in front of a judge...this is designed to interrupt that cycle of violence where people are committing multiple infractions in one night because there's nowhere to hold them."
Meanwhile, the Big Sky Business Journal reported in the Hotsheet on Monday that the hottest topic in Montana's largest city were the crazy high water bills many residents received. Some residents reported receiving water bills topping $1,000. Owen has been holding the city's feet to the fire and is calling for a full audit.
Jennifer Owen: "We knew we needed to change our billing software, but we also had some rate increases that we needed to implement. And unfortunately, with hindsight, we picked the worst time of year- the summer high watering season- to do it. And then we had problems with the conversion, which meant people were getting 60 or 90 day bills when they are used to getting 30 day bills. And all of that resulted in some real frustration and anger among the public, and I completely understand. It's the reason that I asked for an independent audit. We know that we need to earn the public's trust back, and we need to have a third party come in and look from the start of the process all the way to the end- the decisions that were made in public works, by the city administrator, by City Council. We need to look at the software. We need to look at the conversion. We have to fully analyze this and show the public if we made mistakes, or show the public what we learned."
Full audio of our conversation with Jennifer Owen:
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