WAUKESHA — A little more than a month after Sheriff Eric Severson announced that SMÌìµØÂÛ̳ County will end its Huber jail program in a move toward electronic monitoring of inmates, there are few new details being released publicly as efforts continue behind the scenes.
Severson announced March 15 that the county would discontinue the Huber jail program, saying the move would allow correctional officers there to be moved to the main jail to reduce overtime costs. Moving inmates from Huber release to electronic monitoring provides more supervision of them, such as GPS location and the ability to learn whether inmates are drinking alcohol, county officials said. A department spokesman said last month there are 95 inmates in the Huber program.
Hillary Mintz, public information officer for the county, said this week that the move to electronic monitoring is being pursued to address staffing levels at the main jail. She said Huber operations are budgeted at $2.4 million in 2024.
No dates are given for the process of transitioning inmates from Huber to electronic monitoring, or an end date for it, but Mintz said, "It is expected that changes to Huber operations will begin this summer and be part of the 2025 budget development process. However, it is too early to determine the impact on facility usage for 2025."
It is expected that changes to Huber operations will begin this summer and be part of the 2025 budget development process. However, it is too early to determine the impact on facility usage for 2025, Mintz said. She said the county is reviewing a request for proposals for electronic monitoring services.
"The net 2024 financial impact is dependent on several variables such as start dates and contract rates, which are still in development," Mintz said.
An official in the sheriff’s office, responding to Freeman questions related to the Huber jail, reported last week that Huber inmates pay $24 a day for jail fees, which amounted to $613,749 last year. In addition, fees of $24 per day are assessed for electronic monitoring, which generated $10,935 last year.
Sheriff’s Department Inspector James Gumm said this week it’s "just a little early yet to really make any more commentary other than what the sheriff’s already put out. We should probably have some more for you I would say in about another month. We have things we’re doing and things we are working on that need to get finalized yet."
