Peter Iversen Argues for Jail Expansion for Community Group Programming
The following were prepared remarks given by Peter Iversen at the County Council-Meeting_09-17-2024 which reviewed the weighty decision to increase the Monroe County Corrections Local Income Tax rate.
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”All right, thank you, President Deckard.
I wanted to make sure that I prioritize public comment, particularly as I was not here yesterday. I want to thank all of those who showed up for public comments both yesterday and today, as we heard people did take off work to come and speak to us. That is invaluable, and we thank them for that.
I'm going to come out and say that I am in favor of the current ordinance that is on the table. I view taxation as a communal investment into shared values through public goods.
After reviewing the public comment from last night and after hearing the comments tonight, there's been a lot of talk about the tax base and the tax burden that's been affecting people. I completely understand this. I take this very seriously. I do not come from a wealthy background. My family is not particularly wealthy, and I understand this.
I will also say that the emphasis that commentators have been putting on housing is completely apt. There is not enough housing in our community and most recently we have seen the 482nd home proposed in Monroe County rejected. People want to live here. People need to live here, and this is an important issue.
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I'll talk about two more things before I conclude. #1 is the value of expansion and #2 is our shared values.
I strongly believe that expansion provides space for community groups that provide a variety of benefits. I do not agree that treatment and incarceration is a zero sum game. For the the current jail, you know that there is one community room and one community room alone. That room is often booked solid and if we were not to expand and we would be renovating instead, we would be taking that space away most likely.
Expansion allows for multiple community groups to use our facility. This includes treatment groups, lived experience groups, faith-based groups, financial education, and general education groups.
I have been on probably more jail tours than anyone on this dais. Counselor Munson and I were both part of the NIC PONI training. It is increasingly a common awareness, I think to counsel for those of us who have been on even one jail tour, that there is an increased awareness of the effect that trauma is having on those who are incarcerated.
We also have heard that we do not want treatment inside the jail being performed by corrections officers. Instead, we want community groups coming in and providing those services or services being provided in the community. We cannot do that in the current facility. Even if we renovate it.
We must expand. Currently, we do not have room for multiple groups who would provide valuable services.
Expansion not only provides for space, but it also provides safety. We heard a little bit about safety earlier, but one aspect that I'd like to mention is that each and every individual that spends time inside the jail or on the road is an employee of Monroe County.
Everyone up here is responsible for the salary grid and the way that those folks enact in their daily lives in their work. You've been on a tour with Sheriff Marte. You've seen that the effects of the way that our jail is structured makes it an unsafe working condition for our staff. We need to expand to provide safety for our staff.
We also know that it provides safety concerns for those incarcerated and for the public, particularly those who go into the facility to work, including but not limited to public defenders or community groups.
I believe strongly that this ordinance that is on the table now is a reminder of our shared values. We have spent the majority of 2023 listening to the public:
· On June 29th, JFAC listened to Courage to Change, and New Leaf, New Life on diversion.
· On June 30th we listened to community groups about re entry.
· On July 10th, we listened to community groups and county departments on community correction.
· On July 30th, we listened again from Centerstone about diversion.
· On August 7th, we learned more about diversity, equity and inclusion in this space.
· And on August 28th of 2023, we had a very lengthy discussion on treatments.
We have been talking about this for a very long time. We've been listening for a very long time. We've been doing it through the SAMHSA Sequential Intercept Model and we have been listening and taking notes. We are at this point tonight and that helps me lead to my conclusion.
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A vote for the current ordinance that's on the table is not a vote against our shared values, but it's one to preserve those values from a very real nightmare scenario. That nightmare scenario, I think it's very apparent to all of us. It's when we're outsiders come in and they build a facility for us. No public comment, no community groups, no fiscal oversight. We heard that warning from Mr. Falk and Mr. Whipker last night, and we know that the nightmare scenario has already occurred using the Huerta case. For those of you who saw the letter from Mr. Falk, he discusses that case in length. Judges are not shy about using that case. If we don't get this right, we're not immune to this nightmare scenario.
And so I urge my colleagues to adopt the ordinance on the table, not against our shared values, but one that recognizes those that we've heard over the past year.
Thank you, Mr. President.”
