The Catoosa County Board of Commissioners awarded a $6 million construction contract for an expansion to the county jail.
The new facility could house up to 80 people while they complete a planned work-release program, Sheriff Gary Sisk said. The board awarded the contract Tuesday.
Since 2017, Sisk has worked to bring the work-release program to life. This week, he came one step closer. The program would place recently sentenced inmates who are determined to be good fits for the program in a six- to 12-month commitment during which they work jobs within the community — either with their previous employer or with local partners — during the day. After their shift, they would return to the jail.
Money earned by the inmates would be used to pay their court fees or fines, given to them as an allowance and, if necessary, used to support their families, Sisk said.
The county has a 20% recidivism rate, in line with the rest of the state, much of which comes from those on probation finding their way back to jail, Sisk said.
“That’s the population that we are really trying to target on this, is those people who just keep cycling back through. Maybe not real serious crimes but just can’t get out of that environment,” Sisk said by phone. “We’re all a product of the environment we’re raised in. That is what has shaped us, but it doesn’t have to be the final definition.”
Sisk said the jail plans to offer counseling services and teach those involved about personal finance so they can have the tools to be productive citizens.
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The facility will take about a year to complete, Sisk said. The money for the construction came from specially designated sales tax collected by the county. The budget to run the work release-program will come from the sheriff’s annual budget.
“If we want some true change to happen,” Sisk said, “it has to happen in our backyards.”
Contact Northwest Georgia reporter Ignacio Perez at iperez@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6710.