Keep Bailing

Tuolumne County submitted an application, along with seven others, in order to receive funding from the state for a new jail complex. County officials were hoping for a maximum $33 million for the project. However, the county ranks lowest in priority among the small counties that applied.

The total cost of the proposed project in Tuolumne County Jail is estimated at $48 million. The other counties that applied for the small county category of funding are Kings, Shasta, Sutter, Madera, Imperial, San Benito and Siskiyou.

There is only $102 million available from the state for county corrections projects and the eight counties requested a total of $188 million. The criteria for receiving money is based on how many inmates the counties sent to State prisons in 2010. If Tuolumne is to receive any money, other counties will have to drop their requests.

CAO Craig Pedro is not optimistic about the county’s chances of being granted money this cycle. The state board is going to review each application in March before making its final decision on where to settle the money. Pedro said, “If we don’t receive grant funding this cycle, I can’t imagine proceeding at this time. That will be a decision for another day.”