Whether it was intention or happenstance, this month not only marks the end of the year but also the end of a decade-long journey to overturn the will of Fisher County voters. Last week, officials turned the final page in a chapter that many would say they began writing after the 2014 election.
This chapter, of course, begins with the cast of characters dealing with the cliffhanger from its predecessor. That’s why they call them “page turners,” after all.
In 2013, the 16-man Fisher County Citizens Jail Advisory Committee presented its recommendations to the county commissioners court, which, among others, was to “provide a bond package to be presented to the public for a vote in the November General Election.”
DMC’s fore-paper, the Rotan Advance/ Roby Star Record, broke the news of a possible new jail after a specially called meeting in January 2014, where officials listened to representatives from Southwest Architects about possible construction.
In a 120-page document that followed, the architects explained in detail the concerns with the old jail. From the narrow stairwells and lack of handrails in the 1928 construction to the archaic HVAC, unsafe wiring and overloaded electrical system, poor lighting, lack of secure areas, insufficient workspace, and “sewage leaking from upper floors,” it was clear the county was operating a substandard jail, even for Texas.
The jail proposal captured the front page at least six different times in the following Advance/Record editions during 2014. The newspaper also reported on Q&A sessions from public hearings, such as in the October 9, 2014 edition, when it was reported how a taxpayer asked, “How much additional staff would be required in the new facility?”
Texas Commission on Jail Standards Executive Director Brandon Wood responded, informing the taxpayer, the public, and officials of a two-person staff at minimum per shift: one in the control room and one on the floor. The county employed four jailers at the time, and although it could get by with eight, he recommended 10.
In November 2014, voters cast 1,177 ballots by the time the polls closed. The bond passed with more than 75% voter approval. The Fisher County Law Enforcement Center opened its doors June 2, 2016.
It would take years before the commissioners court approved funding for the 10 staff members Wood recommended. Operational costs continued to be a concern for county officials and were heavily debated regardless of which sheriff was in charge.
Former Sheriff J.A. Robinson warned the county about the challenges it would need to address in order to operate the jail effectively and frequently engaged in heated debates. He would later lose the 2016 election.
Operational challenges would not improve for his successor, Sheriff H.T. Fillingim, and while officials hoped to see a substantial reduction in cost, they did not. Discussions about inmate meals and food service providers began, and for several months officials raised issues with just about everything, down to the price per biscuit — everything, that is, except staffing.
In 2018, murmurings of closing the jail surfaced, and in 2019, as reported in the front-page article of this edition, the jail would see its first bout with depopulation. Voluntarily emptying the jail would become common practice as the department, through appointments, elections, and resignations, continued to cycle through sheriffs.
Fisher County has not had either an appointed or elected sheriff complete a fouryear term in office in nearly 15 years, with the last occurring in 2012. There have been seven sheriffs seated in the last 10 years alone, with possibly an eighth being slated to take the reins depending on the results of the March Primary.
By 2021, talk was becoming more serious about closing the jail, but officials remained hesitant due to the constant reminder that an overwhelming majority of citizens voted in favor of the new facility.
“Not all of us,” was Commissioner Gordon Pippin’s response during the 2021 budget debates. The glaring irony of this statement is that it was Pippin who made the original motion calling for the bond election in the court’s August 11, 2014 meeting.
My publisher is fond of saying, “If elected officials actually took the time to read a newspaper, maybe they would remember what they did, even if they have no idea what they’re doing.”
Given the fact that the DMC is nowhere near the same ballpark as The New York Times, I find little flaw in my publisher’s logic — which is more than I can say for many officials, regardless of the league they’re playing in.
For instance, during a post-meeting interview with Commissioner Stuart Posey after the decision to decommission the jail, I confirmed the election results from 2014 and that 75% of voters cast ballots in favor of the bond. Posey’s application of political logic formulated the response, “25% of voters didn’t.”
It would seem the biggest threat to future generations’ grasp of reality is not artificial intelligence — it’s political intelligence. Perhaps each is similar, because the intelligence of both is artificial.
Nevertheless, regardless of what voters approved and what their tax dollars still continue to pay for, the $6.7 million jail now, and for the foreseeable future, sits vacant. The skeleton crew of deputies earn more than six figures to create the illusion of peacekeeping. With more than $8.5 million in the bank, Fisher County earns more in interest income in a single quarter than many residents earn in a year, and too many elected officials no longer serve the will of voters or remain accountable to the public they once served.