On or about September, 2009, the City Administrator for Carson City made inquiry of the Montcalm County Undersheriff as to the availability of inmates for use as laborers. The use of jail inmates for labor on various municipal projects was explained and the service was made available to Carson City immediately but, there was not an opportunity to participate at that time. In October, 2011, the city again made inquiry to Montcalm County about this program. Changes to the program were explained and the city was not able to utilize the program at that time. If and when a viable project is discussed at the city we will contact the jail to verify the availability of inmate labor or community service labor. The city has never utilized this program so we do not have an end date as of February 2013.
The City and County are still considering an agreement for a work release program for jail inmates and other offenders who work under controlled conditions to perform tasks outlined by the City. The program could save thousands of dollars annually in labor costs and could also help to rehabilitate offenders.
Update February 2013
The City has not had any sufficient sized projects that would require a large work crew from the county jail. Carson City will contact the jail this summer if we have any major projects coming up.
Further Update
The County Jail advised us in February, 2013, that this program is still being offered to municipalities and local non-profit organizations. The labor force is not the inmates but those individuals needing to fulfill community service hours. There is no charge to the city for the labor; however, the workers are limited as to what they can do. Workers are not allowed to use power equipment and this could be a potential barrier to us utilizing the county program. The labor is currently available to us and we have a verbal agreement in place.
Update 2014
The City and County are not currently exploring this work release agreement.