Anderson addresses jail issues

County commissioner outlines deficits and liabilities

HOUGHTON -- Houghton County Commissioner Glenn Anderson addressed the Board of Commissioners last week regarding the Houghton County Jail and the structural liabilities it presents to the county, noting it is the final opportunity for the board to discuss the topic publicly before the Nov. 3 election.

Anderson stated the most pressing issue facing the local justice system is the jail's operational capacity.

"We all know we've had 28 beds for the past 63 years," Anderson said, adding that the population for this year has routinely averaged 30 inmates a day. Furthermore, when the Michigan Department of Corrections inmate classification liability is factored into daily operations, that protocol reduces the functional number of available, separated beds down to 22.

"Historically, between 2000 and 2010, we only have been able to get 40 to 50 inmates," Anderson said. "Fortunately, that hasn't been the case in decades, but we certainly have had that pressure since the jail was built in 1963."

Anderson said that in 2024, a county jail consultant told the board that based on regional charges, arrests, and sentencing trends, the facility should maintain a baseline capacity of 51 beds. That assessment leaves the county currently short by 23 beds.

"We all understand the severity of the crimes have increased in Houghton County," Anderson pointed out. "We recently had three murderers there in the last two or three years, and one is still there."

At the same time, Anderson noted that the female inmate population is steadily increasing, pointing out that when the facility was originally constructed in 1963, the architectural plans did not include housing provisions for female inmates.

Anderson went on to discuss the facility's civil liability to the county, noting at least one current inmate lawsuit against the county remains pending in the court system. He stated he agrees with an independent evaluator who toured the jail recently and subsequently told Sheriff Josh Saaranen that the current liability potential of the facility far exceeds the $28 million proposed to replace it.

Anderson next addressed popular public feedback regarding sending county inmates to vacant facilities in neighboring counties. He noted that in addition to the difficulty of finding an outside facility with sufficient open capacity and paying the daily boarding fees to house inmates there, the cost of transporting inmates needs to be factored into the equation.

"Marquette County currently routinely takes over much of that capacity because they're overcrowded," Anderson said, "and I think the closest facility would be Iron County."

The population of Houghton County has grown approximately 3 percent since 2020, Anderson remarked, meaning the current jail provides a capacity of 0.8 beds per 1,000 people, which represents the lowest size for any county in the State of Michigan.

"The average size is 3.7 beds per thousand," Anderson said.

Anderson concluded by stating that because of the diligence of local contractors, the proposed cost of a new jail facility was reduced by $4 million, bringing the total down to $28 million for a 30-year bond issue. He added that the bond issue is solely for the maximum amount of the project bid, which could actually total less than the proposed amount upon completion.

Anderson said he would have personally preferred a shorter 20-year bond term.

"That would have increased the bond by a quarter mill," he said, "so instead of 1.26, it would have been 1.5 mills."

However, Anderson noted that feedback from taxpayers indicated the millage rate is the most important number to residents, not the length of the term.

"So, to me, we made the right decision going with the 30-year bond," Anderson said.

If the county passes the proposal next month, Anderson noted that the 30-year bond can legally be refinanced after 10 years to save taxpayer revenue.

"If interest rates drop, or the economy grows faster than anticipated, we can, after 10 years, refinance it," Anderson said.

Anderson stated that while the interest rate on a 20-year bond would hover around 4.7 percent, the interest rate for a 30-year bond would sit at approximately 4.2 percent.

"So it would have been 4/10 of a percent higher if we went with a 20-year bond," he said.