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What $15 per day will buy in Houghton County Jail

Gazette file photo Houghton County Sheriff Brian McLean sees both sides of the pay-to-stay mandate every day.

HOUGHTON — While some former inmates never manage to pay their jail bills, not doing so can haunt them for years.

“It does go against their credit rating,” said Houghton County Sheriff Brian McLean, “and we all know that on the civil side of it, that after seven years, it falls off the books, it’s unclaimable. We just have to write those off; it’s part of doing business.”

The pay-to-stay debate has gone on for years. McLean said he sees both sides of the debate. Taxpayers want people using the system to pay; others say it is undue government oppression.

“There are two philosophical arguments here: One, oppressing the poor and the other one, is, ‘Hey, these people are a drain on society, and they’re costing us taxpayer monies. We want something back for that,'” he said. “And there are people who are way behind that. They love that.”

While most people would probably agree that the criminal justice system is fair, in many instances, the allowance permitted by the Reimbursement Act can be grossly excessive. While the law allows counties to charge up to $60 per day for incarceration, Houghton County Jail charges $15.

“p1″>”I’m going to Lansing on Thursday, just as a side note, and I’m searching for motels in the Lansing area,” McLean said. “I found a Super Eight motel on Travelosity for $38. Now, I’m paying $38 for a motel. I get a breakfast, I get a pool, I get a nice room — but I get to walk away from it. To charge somebody $38 a day for this? Come on! You get a steel bunk with a three-inch foam mattress, and toast and cereal in the morning,  a hot meal at lunch and then a sandwich for supper, and you get to watch TV, and you have smelly, stinky people in there with you. I mean, come on.”

McLean said the maximum sentence anyone will receive in the county jail is 12 months in jail.

“The maximum sentence anyone spends — if you get a year in jail, you’re getting 10 months. Two months off for good behavior. So, a 10-month bill at $15 a day is a pretty substantial bill, and in a lot of cases, they just don’t have the money, and we’ll never collect it.”

For those can pay it, however, there is an incentive, McLean said.

“And if it’s a three-month stay, and they’ve got a balance of say — $750, and they want to pay it immediately, we will discount it 50 percent,” McLean said. “So, you can get rid of your entire jail bill here, take 50 percent, and off you go. Good for you, good for us, you get a deal.”

The 50 percent discount generates more revenue than having to refer the original total to a collection agency. If the agency is willing to collect at all, the jail receives just 30 percent of the total, McLean said.

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