COUNTY, ACCION AMERICA AGREE TO REVIEW OF JAIL COMMISSARY CONTRACT

By Juan Montoya
Officials with Cameron County and the sheriff's department have agreed to review the commissary contract provisions with community representatives to determine where exactly the nearly $1 million in proceeds from inmate purchases are allotted.
'We are missing some components that only the sheriff would be able to have," County Judge Carlos Cascos told a gathering of county officials including the county auditor Martha Galarza, purchasing agent Michael Forbes, county counsel Dylbia Jeffries, and sheriff department commander Fermin Leal.
Also present was inmate advocate Mary Ray and Accion America President Carlos Quintanilla who had addressed a previous county commissioners meeting to voice concerns about the disbursement of funds from the commissary sales by Snakre Vending LLC.
"Let's understand that by law the commissioners have nothing to do with the commissary contract. The sheriff has the sole discretion on anything relating to the commissary," Cascos said at the outset of the meeting held in his office Tuesday.
The sheriff started to bid the contract two years ago to dispel allegations of favoritism in its award in the local media. Ostensibly a minor part of jail operations, county residents have found that it's a lucrative (and profitable) business for the vendors.
A report by the auditor indicated that sales to inmates for fiscal year 2009 were $925,512, of which $765,732 were paid to the vendor. The owners of Snakre mare attorney Rick Zayas and his partner Ruben Cortez. Both are former Brownsville Independent School District board of trustees. Both were soundly defeated in November by candidates supported by a local PAC supported in part by Quintanilla and his community action group.
Ms. Ray was an officer of the DefeatZayasCortezPowers PAC.
In the past, many families of inmates and Accion America have accused Snakre of "gouging" inmates through high commissary prices. Under the contract, the county gets 35 percent of gross sales to inmates.
Quintanilla said that the figures in the county audit did not specify what amount went directly for inmate services, as state law requires. Instead, the costs associated with the operation of the commissary such as vehicle repair, salaries, etc. are lumped together without specifying how they relate to providing inmates with services.
"Thirty five percent of almost $1 million is closet to $300,000 than to the $159,000 the county got from the vendor," he said. "There seems to be some difference in the amounts that are shown going to the county.
Quintanilla said his group and the families of inmates were concerned that unless there was a specific accounting of the funds, services to inmates might be affected. Further, he said that the public needed to know that there was transparency and accountability in the application of the contract.
"We see this as an opportunity for the sheriff to show the public that not only is the county getting its fair share, but also that the funds that inmates get in the form of indigent packages, hygiene items and other services such as literacy and religious instruction are being provided."
Commander Leal said he would work with the auditor personnel and the group to provide the details relating to the commissary. He said the department would provide the information to the group in the days to come.
Cascos also asked Galarza to acquire the backup information to the group's questions to determine whether the concerns raised by the group might be clarified. Galarza said that the figures could be available as soon as two weeks from Monday.
The group also discussed the formation of a citizens jail advisory board to facilitate dialogue by inmate families, sheriff department officials, the clergy and other interested groups to address some of the concerns of the families.
"Some of the people in this room would probably make good representatives on that board," Cascos said.
Quintanilla said that such advisory boards already existed in other counties and that the local group could learn from the existing boards on the implementation of measures to address jail issues. Establishing one in Cameron County would not need for local officials to "reinvent the wheel," he said.
"We'd much rather work together with you than to take an adversarial position," he said. "We see this as an opportunity for the sheriff to address some of these issues that would benefit the county and it would also benefit the welfare of the inmates. We know they're there because they violated state law, but at the same time they should not be penalized further when they're in custody."