PLYMOUTH — In their meeting on Monday, the Marshall County Commissioners unanimously pledged their monetary support pending County Council approval for the move of the Marshall County Community Corrections office from their current location on Jefferson Street.
The department is currently housed in the Community Resource Center on Adams Street, but Director Beau Holcomb told the Commissioners that his current lease would end in 90 days and would be replaced with a five-year lease at either $200,000 or $40,000 per year. He stated that he would like to apply all funds available to him to his budget needs rather than to rent.
The program currently operates at no cost to Marshall County, relying on grants and user fees to fund a budget of $900,000, while lowering the inmate population at the jail by allowing users to serve their sentences while still maintaining a job and living on their own with ankle bracelet monitoring of their activities. Holcomb said that while Community Corrections has not had funds cut by the state assembly, they have also not received an increase in a decade.
Commissioner Stan Klotz said that the county had been approached by the Bowen Center about the proposed property on West Jefferson. Bowen offered the property for sale at $50,000, and Holcomb stated that it would be sufficient for his needs and would once again do away with his rent cost to allow him to apply it to the budget.
Klotz proposed a one-time gift from the county of $50,000 for the purchase, and the county taking over maintenance of the structure to keep the program self-funded.
The recommendation will now be considered by the Marshall County Council.
