RINGGOLD, Ga. - The Catoosa County Commission renewed its contract to receive prison labor for some local projects.
The commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday night to approve the county's work detail agreement with the Georgia Department of Corrections. Under the contract, the county receives work from Walker State Prison inmates, paying the Department of Corrections $39,500 for the year.
The county can use up to 10 inmates, with the inmates working 40 hours a week. If used to the maximum, the county would receive about 2,080 hours' worth of work - at a rate of about $1.91 an hour, per inmate.
County Manager Jim Walker said he was not sure exactly how many inmates and how many hours' worth of work the local government has received through the agreement in past years. Usually, he said, the county brings in the inmates to work on road crews or building maintenance.
Catoosa County Manager Jim Walker"It's as much as we can get them," he said. "We try."
For example, the county brought in six or seven inmates over four days last week to work alongside Boynton Road, where they installed culverts and did other maintenance work. Walker is not sure where specifically the money from the agreement goes, whether the Department of Corrections puts it into the general fund or sets it aside for inmates' commissary.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
During the meeting, County Commissioner Jim Cutler said he heard some people questioned whether using inmate labor was moral. He asked Public Works Director Donald "Buster" Brown whether inmates complain about having to work. Brown said he didn't hear any objections to the labor.
"Most of them want to be out," Brown said.
"They'd work seven days a week if they could," Commissioner Jeff Long said.
Before the meeting, Cutler told the Times Free Press that some inmates had helped remodel the county courthouse. They did fine work at a cheaper rate, he said, and they seemed happy.
"I'd rather work on a building and be a carpenter than stay in a jail cell," he said. "I've always looked at it as a win-win for the county and for the inmates themselves."
County clinic
The commissioners also unanimously approved a lease agreement to rent a building for a clinic. Located at 313 Boynton Drive off Old Alabama Highway, the operation will be only for county employees.
The county will rent the 2,000-square-foot building for $1,800 a month, plus utilities. The former tenant at the building ran a pain-management clinic there, Walker said, and he left it set up with exam rooms, a waiting room, lab equipment and some furniture.
Walker hopes the clinic will save the county money, long-term. It will be open five days a week. During the early hours, county workers can come without an appointment, and the staff will treat them on a first-come, first-served basis. The staff will also take appointments for later parts of the day.
The commissioners hope that employees will go there, receiving some free services, like medication for a cold or diabetes, or their children's sports physicals. They hope this will cut down on trips to the hospital - which, as a result, will cut down on insurance premiums.
Including dependents, the county supports about 640 people on its plan with United Healthcare. Walker said their current premium is about $5 million a year.
The commissioners will decide Aug. 1 whether to sign a contract with One to One, a personal physician network based in Chattanooga. Walker hopes the clinic opens to employees Oct. 2.
Contact Staff Writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.