The Hidalgo County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved seeking requests for proposals from private companies to operate the Willacy County Regional Detention Facility.
The move comes after the recent approval of a 50-year lease the county inked with Willacy County to use the 586-bed jail to help mitigate the number of inmates Hidalgo County is holding in other out-of-county facilities.
For decades, the county has had a chronic overcrowding problem in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center, prompting officials to house inmates in other counties to stay compliant with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
This practice has cost county taxpayers tens of millions of dollars over the last 20 years. The term of the contract with the company that has the best bid to operate for the facility will be for four years with two one-year renewals.
However, the cost of the successful contract is not immediately clear.
The bid packet said the proposals must identify the per diem, per prisoner fee.
“Base payment to vendor is on a firm fixed rate. Whether we have 100 or 568 inmates in facility the monthly rate will be the same for a guaranteed billable rate,” the bid packet stated. “Any changes to the fee based on the prisoner population housed at the Facility must be clearly set out in the price proposal.”
It’s not immediately clear when the Willacy County Regional Detention Facility will be operational.
The commissioners court earlier this year approved conducting an appraisal of the building’s condition, but it’s not clear what that appraisal found.
The Monitor filed a Texas Public Information Act request for copies of the report, but civil attorneys with the county have sought an opinion from the Texas Attorney General’s Office on whether it can withhold the reports.
However, Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez previously said that the building has been inspected and officials are comfortable with its use.
But it’s unlikely using the Willacy County jail will put a total stop to Hidalgo County’s overcrowding issues.
Hidalgo County Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra previously told The Monitor that even with the Willacy County facility, he will probably have to continue leasing beds in other counties.
The county will pay Willacy County a total of $57.53 million through 2046 to house inmates there, paying $3 million a year for the first three years.
Rent for the remaining term of the lease can be adjusted after 2046.
