City signs jail contract

The City of Shelton has contracted with the Nisqually Correctional Facility on Yelm Highway to provide jail beds for detainees.

The Shelton City Council on Tuesday unanimously passed the contract, which calls for the Nisqually Correctional Facility to receive $130 per day per inmate, with no guaranteed beds. Shelton Police Department employees will drive the inmates to the facility.

The city has been contracting with the Mason County Sheriff’s Office for jail services, and currently pays for seven guaranteed beds per day. Five of the beds are reserved for detainees who are only being charged with violations that would be adjudicated in Municipal Court.

“Many times, officers encounter individuals who have committed Municipal Court violations and have pending matters in either District or Superior Court and as such cannot be booked into jail unless one of the two ‘any beds’ are open,” the city report states. “The limitations on how our guaranteed beds can be used, coupled with staffing and/or facility challenges within MCSO have made it difficult for the Police Department to hold offenders accountable for their actions. Being able to hold offenders accountable and confine them to jail when necessary is critical to the safety of our community.”

The Nisqually Correctional Facility is the closet facility able and willing to accept Shelton bookings, the city report states. With the new deal, the city “will be renegotiating a similar ‘per diem’ contract with MCSO which will eliminate the daily recurring costs of guaranteed beds.”

The Mason County Jail last month reported it has space for 93 inmate beds and a current target population of 60, but staffing shortages mean only people arrested on felony charges are being booked into the facility in Shelton.