Keeping people who aren’t safe off the street is important, however our jails are brimming with those OAS, operating after suspension.

Say last year you lost your license - OUI...you paid your fine, did your time. You are lucky enough - and willing enough - to have a job now. You have no license, it's 8 am...you have no ride to work but there's your car in the dooryard...

You drive to work, the cops pull you over and off to jail.

Let's go back to the Cinderella license.

Hey Beelzebubba how about just not getting arrested for OUI or whatever else in the first place? I'm happy that someone who was OAS is in jail. They most likely lack insurance and if they hit someone who has a valid DL and is on their way to work they just screwed up the life of a hardworking person.

Hopefully the funds will be found somewhere or somehow to keep the jails properly staffed and keep those that committed crimes behind bars where they belong.

I see the jail consolidation is working out for Baldnazi just like the school consolidation did......He is such a financial genius!

The answer restructure the offenses requiring jail or not. Apply a fine (loosing money hurts) and not jail for first and second time offenders of the small crimes. The third run in with law should either be a fine or jail not both. When both are applied even with the jail charge it costs us out here money. If a person is going down for 2, 3, etc.years the judges should stop reducing their sentences to 364 days and less so they can stay in the county jail. This practice by this state's judges supports what I am saying here. They enjoy enforcing the law in this fashion as long as us the taxpayers pay for it again on the county level. The money on the state end is already considered to belong to the powers that be once it leaves our county coffers.

"This whole thing is a mess,” said Tom Davis, chairman of the Penobscot County commissioners. “The state is increasing the funding for the state jails and wants to lower the funding for the county jails".

Simple fix Mr. Chairman put the criminals where the money already is, and leave the taxpayers alone. You guys create these messes and always want us taxpayers to give more money...What happens when we have no more? Will you give us the boot and bring in people willing to pay? Some leadership...

Since the County tax (at least in Somerset County) is such a large part of out town’s property tax, how about those low-risk prisoners spend all day every day out doing work in the communities that pay to keep them locked up at night? I see no reason for anyone to hang around that nice facility in Madison all day reading and watching TV while brush needs cutting on the roadsides. While they’re cutting brush they can pick up trash. I'm sure the MCLU and the ACLU would scream but tough luck. Get arrested and sentenced to time and it’s your fault. And I see no reason why the person in jail shouldn’t be expected to pay for his/her own incarceration. The mamby-pamby way of prisoner treatment has clearly not worked out as planned so let’s go to a more serious way of punishment. Remember that silly little concept? Punishment for breaking societal rules?

Put the chain gangs back on the roads. A little embarrassement might keep some of the people out of trouble, and besides it would help public works.

Your right Sun, no reason why they can't clean the parks, mow the lawns, pick up garbage along the roadside. Clean the jail, paint the jail, there are lots of jobs they could do.

Great comments! But listen, I have personally observed and heard a particular Sheriff state that he has put much padding in his budget so that if anyone cuts some money away, he can still get what he wants. Now he has a voice in the state committee who is trying to settle this whole issue. The state committee though is not buying into his and other's constant excuses for upping the state's portion of which to place into the pot. The time is coming when even the sheriffs and the police chiefs are going to have to realize that they put their pants on the same way we do and will be held responsible as those AIG executives are being right now. Our citizens are being subjected to cost saving measures, why shouldn't they be?

Hey Sheriff,

Jails have been run on a lot less than you get now. Only problem is many state/county employees like you ask for more and more and do less and less. Perhaps you might ask yourself why despite increasing expenditures for the law enforcement system the population of our jails and the incidence of ' crime' continues on the rise. Look to your own garden podna the weeds are everywhere.

jesse james

Instead of putting people in jail for OUI's maybe they should put them in a rehab so they can get the help they need...so they can get their license back and maybe we wouldn't have so many repeat offenders...and we might have room for the real murders, drug related, burgulars, etc...

Here come the scare tactics.

This is easily fixed, Move the Jail to a Rural Penobscot County Community with enough land to have a completely fenced in FARM. Make them work for their supper and clothing and bed. There is no reason why these able bodied criminals can't work for their keep. By farming, they will also be providing their own meals and become a self sufficient entity. It will also teach them something that is productive. I've been saying this for years, PRISON FARMS WORK, why wouldn't the concept work for County Jails?

BTW when I say farm I mean old-fashioned, no tractor farms. Get some work horses and old pull plows for the tilling, make them take care of the animals and work the fields just like our ancestors did. The only money that will then be needed would be for maintenance, employees payroll, utilities, animal feed, and yes, transportaiton to and from court or hospital. But seriously, why should they get away with going on vacation after they have ruined some hardworking soul's life? AND YES I have heard some them say...."I'll be going on enforced vacation for awhile...see you when I get out."

Actually Taxedtodeath, if the jail consolidation plan that the Baldacci administration put forth had been accepted then we wouldn’t have this problem now. Instead the Jail Board of Corrections was put together to manage jail budgets. They claimed they could save money and that the state need not take over county facilities. Predictably we are reaping the results of this compromise. Everyone knew dang well that this board would be asking for more money. It was only a matter of time.

Why not make inmates, WORK FOR THEIR VISIT TO THE SLAMMER!!!! Oh NO, that would be too easy. There are enough pot-holes in the states of Maine, it should keep em busy for awhile.

Enough of this nonsense about putting people in treatment centers for OUI's. They need to be in jail period. Don't want to go to jail/ Then don't drive under the influence. I happen to enjoy being alive and the more we put drunks the safer I'll be.

I would agree with many of the comments written in regards to making Corrections facilities more of a "working" facility than the "vacation" resort. However, we as a society have continually provided an out with our "lack of accountability" compassion and the efforts of the "special interest". Basically stated, we want to provide people not only a "second chance" without punishment, but "second, third, fourth, etc) under the same premise. As well, we all want our taxes to be lowered as long as my road, school, job & any other services are not effected. Maine is a very rural state and the numbers just don't allow for us to "have our cake and eat it to" especially Bangor north. Acadian is partly correct in the fact that government has done a great job of seeming to "make a mess" and all entities (including County) seem to get wrangled up in this. However, the municipal / county governments in the great State of Maine will not have to "boot you out" as you will be "taxed to leave" when the repercussion of the corrections division on the state level realized it's errors.

A couple more thoughts on this issue, for jordan's sake the plan that Gov. Baldacci put forth seems to be done without doing his homework. Quite simply, as stated in the proposal that Counties would work with the State of Maine DOC and working groups to develop a CAP for the municipalities contribution to this system and that an annual growth factor would be determined leaves one to believe that there had to be knowledge / assumptions of additional costing henceforth funding. Once those "assumed" savings due to "assumed" fat in the County budgets did not come to fruition, it seems as though the only way for the administration to keep its' promise of reductions in spending was to present flat funding. Can anyone honestly say that having the State of Maine government take over something is honestly good for that program / entitiy based on the historical achievements of its' own divisions (DHS in particular)? Stenilin's reference to AIG is valid only to the point of looking back at the administration of the State of Maine and the parties of the DOC.

One of the issue's facing the county jail system, is how the bail issues are handled. As I understand it, some of the bail conditions are just plain out of whack, and is one of the sole reason's why jails are continuously filled up. Perhaps that is another angle that should be looked at. Otherwise, the local jail is our best security, and should not be tampered with... So, State of Maine, dig up the necessary funds to keep the jail system in good stead. We here in Penobscot County are fortunate to have a Sheriff, as dedicated and conscientious as Glen Ross.Larry T. Doughty, South Brewer. larrytdoughty@yahoo.com..www.ourstory.com/larrytdoughty/

Maybe we should start treating inmates like inmates. Bread and water? Or maybe they can sue us for not getting there mail?

In seeing the police officers in North Carolina on I-95 guarding those prisoners my last few trips down the coast...I am beginning to think this is not such a bad thing. A truck full of cold patch, a million pot holes, and an officer standing guard with a shotgun (ready to shoot)...priceless.

An old fashion farm? Plowing , sowing, eating nice fresh veggies and beef? Sounds like a nice stress free, healthy lifestyle to me! Where do I sign up for a 5 year sentence?

The only problem though is all the crooked Judges here in Maine who are guilty and gavel happy convicting so many people, and sentencing them to jail time for minor offenses.