Iowa county resists Gov. Reynolds' prison program reorganization
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Polk County is yanking $240,000 in free rent and budget allocations to a state prison program in order to create its own initiative.
Why it matters: It's the latest showdown between Iowa's largest county and the state following last year's reorganization initiated by Gov. Kim Reynolds that dismantled local oversight of an Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) program.
- At stake is the decades-old program that has helped reintegrate former incarcerated people back into society.
Catch up fast: The state government's 37 cabinet agencies were consolidated into 16 last year.
- Managers of Iowa's Community Based Corrections (CBC) program now report to the DOC rather than local boards made up mostly of county supervisors and residents.
Flashback: Republican lawmakers argued that reorganization would make state government more efficient and save money. Democrats called it a power grab.
- Dozens of local advocates for recidivism reduction programs spoke against the changes that bypass local oversight in the CBC program.
State of play: Polk County previously allocated resources to the state's pretrial release services because the local government had a voice on its board, Supervisor Tom Hockensmith tells Axios.
- Without having a vote in how programs operate, he says supervisors feel it's inappropriate to allocate local tax dollars.
- Polk County's allocations are terminated as of Feb. 1, according to a Dec. 28 letter Hockensmith sent on behalf of supervisors.
The other side: The county's takeover will require "a completely duplicative infrastructure" for services that currently cost more than $600,000 a year, according to a four-page response the DOC provided to Axios.
- It is unlikely the county can provide the same level of services and that could have widespread local impact on public safety services.
- Polk's leadership is more interested in making a political statement than doing what is best for its citizens, according to the DOC's statement.
What's next: Polk County is hiring staff for its program, which could assist more than 100 people starting in coming weeks, Hockensmith says.
The intrigue: Hockensmith, a Democrat, anticipates state lawmakers may try to prohibit the county's action this year.
- "With this administration, taking local control away from locally elected officials has been a mantra."
Read more: Hockensmith's letter terminating Polk County's state contributions