Gazette File photo The Houghton County Jail is not ADA compliant in several regards, including the lack of a ramp from the street to the front door of the facility.

HOUGHTON – County officials have been advocating for a new jail since 1983, including four failed millage attempts for a modern facility that meets Michigan Dept. of Corrections (MDOC) standards.

The MDOC is responsible for inspecting and auditing county jails to ensure compliance with state standards for safety, security, and humane treatment.

“They are the agency that controls the inspections and oversight of the county jails,” Sheriff Joshua Saaranen said. According to state law, MDOC standards must be met and maintained at the expense of the counties.

Michigan’s Revised Statuses of 1846, Sec. 16, states:

“Each organized county shall, at its own cost and expense, provide at the county seat thereof a suitable courthouse, and a suitable and sufficient jail and fireproof offices and all other necessary public buildings, and keep the same in good repair.”

However, MDOC standards of what constitutes suitable courthouses and jails have changed since the jail was built in 1963, without providing financial assistance to help counties achieve those standards. For Houghton County, the estimated cost of a jail that meets current standards is between $26.3 million and $36 million, depending on design and size.

“The state does its annual inspections,” County Commissioner Roy Britz said. “In my day as undersheriff, when I used to deal with those inspections, the state always told us that we have deficiencies that need to be taken care of, and if it came to an issue down the road, they would have to publicly say there were deficiencies we were told about, and we didn’t fix them.”

Britz said he has been told by inspectors that the while the state mandates what the county needs to do to bring the jail into compliance, “‘we’ve got no money to help you.'”

While the county is financially responsible for meeting MDOC standards, the county is limited in repairs to the jail by more than budgetary constraints. The Michigan Revised Statuses state before the plan of any jail which has been duly authorized to be built shall be determined or accepted, or contracted for, the plan shall be submitted to the department of corrections for its examination and opinion, and such department shall carefully examine and give the benefit of its study and experience in such matter to the counties submitting such plans and report its opinion to the county clerk of the county so submitting plans.

“I’ve been dealing with this jail for 26 years,” Britz said, “as an undersheriff and now a county commissioner. As soon as you start doing any demolishing inside of it – moving walls and stuff – then we’ll be forced to bring the entire building up to code.”