Burnet County Jail transitions to new management company
FROM STAFF REPORTS
BURNET — The Burnet County Jail will have a new operator as of April 1, but county officials said the transition will be smooth and virtually undetectable by county residents and taxpayers.
“There will be very little change out there,” said Burnet County Precinct 1 Commissioner Bill Neve. He also chairs the Public Facility Corporation which monitors the operation of the facility.
The only significant difference, Neve said, is there will be a new warden.
Since 2008, Southwestern Correctional, LLC, ran the day-to-day operations of the Burnet County Jail. Officials with the company notified Burnet County leaders earlier this year that Southwestern Correctional would not renew its agreement to operate the jail.
Neve said Burnet County officials began seeking a new company to manage the jail, which led to Community Education Centers.
On April 1, CEC will assume the day-to-day operations of the jail. However, Neve pointed out, the Burnet County sheriff is still ultimately responsible for the jail no matter what company operates it.
The Burnet County Jail has 586 beds. Burnet County pays $44 per inmate per day to house people at the facility. Neve said under the new agreement, the county will pay $46 per inmate per day, but noted that the county was due for an increase.
But Burnet County isn’t the only entity that houses people at the facility. Other counties, as well as federal agencies, can keep people at the jail, but at a higher rate.
“I’m actually enthusiastic about the new one because it seems they have a closer relationships with the U.S. Marshal’s (Service),” Neve said. “I think that will help with the number of people we have in beds there.”
The marshal’s service is one of the entities that keeps people at the facility.
Neve said under this type of management system, the county has probably saved at least $1 million since the facility opened.
While the changeover has required many of the Southwestern Correctional employees to basically reapply for positions at the jail if they wanted to continue there, Neve said CEC already has the staff necessary to take over the operation.
“These private operators all know each other,” he said. “They’ve made this transition before in the past, in both directions. (CEC is) actually out there right now working on the transition.”
Overall, Neve likes the transition.
“It saves money for the county and keeps the costs down,” he said.
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