Franklin County Grand Jury Issues Presentments; Jail, DA Office Listed as Priorities

The Franklin County Grand Jury has wrapped up another session and has made some recommendations regarding the Sheriff’s office and the DA’s office.

With regard to the Sheriff’s office, the Grand Jury, in their Presentments, called on the County to take action regarding a previous Grand Jury recommendation that steps be taken to solve the overcrowding issue at the county jail.

Sheriff Stevie Thomas has been working on an expansion plan at the Franklin County Detention Center that would include building four new jail pods to house female and non-violent offenders away from the rest of the inmate population.

The Board of Commissioners last year voted in principle to move ahead with building two of the pods at a cost of $1.5 million.

During those discussions last November, then county manager John Phillips recommended putting the project out in a request for proposals as a design-build project in which a contractor would come up with a plan and the build the two pods.

Construction on the first two pods was expected to being sometime this year, but that was pushed back with the sale of Ty Cobb Regional to St. Mary’s and the bond debt that was left with the County to pay.

Now the plan is to begin work on the pods in Fiscal 2016.

Other recommendations from the Grand Jury include directing the County to work with Northern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Parks White to find a way to increase the pay scale for the Assistant District Attorneys and to reduce their work load.

White has been lobbying all five counties in the circuit for some time to hire extra ADA’s.
WLHR News will be airing more on that story in the coming days.

Finally, the Grand Jury recommended a committee of Grand Jury members be formed to oversee their recommendations to ensure they are being addressed by the County.