Bay City News Service
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve a $20.7 million program to support state inmates re-routed to county jails under California's realignment plan.
The funds will expand some departments and cover operational costs associated with the hundreds of additional low-level offenders who would previously have been housed in state prison and are now under county jurisdiction under state Assembly Bill 109.
The afternoon vote came after six months of debate among the members of the county's Community Corrections Partnership about how to allocate $19 million in state realignment funding. The prolonged negotiations mean the county's public safety departments will receive the funding after the fiscal year is halfway through.
The CCP executive committee includes the county's public safety and criminal justice department heads, including Sheriff David Livingston, District Attorney Mark Peterson, Public Defender Robin Lipetzky and Probation Chief Philip Kader.
The committee's newly approved budget allocates more than $15 million to hire new personnel and for other costs related to AB 109 inmate caseloads.
In addition, $5.2 million of the spending plan is earmarked for partnerships with community organizations aimed at reducing the rate of inmates returning to jail.
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