Calling it an issue that has long been "simmering beneath the surface," members of the Jail Advisory Committee (JAC), a voluntary organization of community leaders from East Meadow and Salisbury, are calling into question the terms of a contract between the Nassau County Legislature and the New York State Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) regarding "state-ready" prisoners held at the Nassau County Correctional Facility in East Meadow. The contract, adopted in Feb. of 1999, is up for renewal this month.

A state-ready prisoner is one who has been convicted of a felony and is sentenced to more than one year in a New York State correctional facility. In the terms stated in the current contract between the county and the state, the county is reimbursed $100 a day for willingly holding at the East Meadow facility select 'non-violent' prisoners, such as burglars, DWI offenders, and those arrested on narcotics charges. The state pays the county $34 a day to hold 'violent' prisoners, such as arsonists, rapists, and armed robbers, for a period not to exceed six months.

Under terms of a new contract, the county could soon have more incentive to hold "contracted inmates" for the maximum length of stay.

The amended document, which was introduced to the legislature at a preliminary hearing of the Public Safety Committee Feb.14, offers the $100 a day rate of pay for additional classifications of non-violent felons, with the understanding that the county hold contracted inmates "in local custody for longer periods of time than is otherwise permitted for other state-ready inmates." The new contract also gives the county the option to "elect to identify new proposed contract inmates" from the New York State Department of Correctional Services (DOCS), until the "existing appropriation has been exhausted."

The fact that the county is being paid to hold state-ready prisoners for what is currently an average of three months, according to county jail officials, and is being encouraged to hold them for the maximum length of stay for greater compensation is causing manifold concerns among members of the JAC, including Beverlee Szimanski.

Szimanski, president of the Community Association of Stewart Avenue, stated in her organization's newsletter, "It is our contention that the Nassau County Correctional Center should not be considered a revenue producer, and we certainly do not want a mini state prison on Carman Ave."

The idea of the East Meadow jail being a "revenue producer" is supported in an excerpt from last year's county budget, which was made available to members of the JAC in November of 1999. It reads, "[The jail] will also be required to house state-ready prisoners at the county jail for longer periods of incarceration. In exchange, the state will pay the county $100 daily per prisoner. This initiative can conservatively generate a recurring revenue of $3.5 million annually."

"The whole concept of making money by housing prisoners has the potential to explode," said Larry Green, JAC member and president of the Salisbury Civic Association. "Someone comes along and says, 'If we can house this many prisoners for this amount, we can house this many more, for even more money. We're already paying the guards, we're already paying for the jail, why not cram as many prisoners in here as possible?'"

Legislator Joseph Scannell (D-Baldwin) speculated, "I always wonder where they come up with these figures regarding how much it costs to house a prisoner. If you squeeze an extra person in, does it really cost that much more money?"

The head of the Public Safety Committee went on to add, "'Recurring revenue' is how Wall Street determines if we are getting enough money into the budget. This just seems like another get rich quick scheme, another way County Executive Thomas Gulotta can turn around to Wall Street and say, 'I've got this new recurring revenue, so don't downgrade us to junk bond status.'"

Legislator Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) was adamant, "There is no way we are going to be encouraged financially to keep these felons. If the state needs additional facilities, let the state worry about it. They are not going to do this in the heart of a residential community." Gonsalves has been a member of the JAC for a number of years.

Even if the county did intend to harvest recurring revenue from the housing of state-ready prisoners, according to Green, simple math proves they stand only to lose money.

The current cost of housing a prisoner at the East Meadow facility is roughly $150 a day. By Green's calculations, and as stated in the budget, the state's $100 a day compensation, divided by the county's estimated recurring revenue of $3.5 million, equals 35,000 prisoner days; 35,000 prisoner days at $150 a day equals $5.25 million. The current contract is actually costing the county $1.75 million a year. Scannell and Gonsalves had no comment on this calculation.

Additional concerns of the JAC include the adverse effects of housing state-ready prisoners on the community, and on the jail itself.

The Nassau County Correctional Center is situated across from the East Meadow High School, and adjacent to a park. "Safety of our children and our community is of utmost importance," said President of the PTA Council Deborah Coates, who began correspondence with Gulotta and key legislators regarding the length of stay of state-readies in early December. "As a member of the JAC, I am trying to keep as close an eye on the situation as possible."

"The faster they get these prisoners out of here, the better," said Green. "Prisoners tend to have friends who are not always law-abiding citizens, and we don't want them traipsing through the community either."

The negative impact of holding state-ready prisoners is felt by the East Meadow jail and its staff, as well, said McGuire. "A lot of these individuals we are holding for the state are gang members. You have to separate these people from each other, isolate them so there will be decreased incidence of violence. Although you may have 120 state-ready prisoners on a given day, you may need 150 cells to safely accommodate them. This trickles down through the whole operation. There are more housing areas we need to use, more visits, more meals, greater use of medical facilities, and a greater necessity for overtime hours worked by the staff."