This year’s budget for the Buzz Westfall Justice Center is $1.2 million less than St. Louis County and jail officials had hoped for, and it includes cuts to contracted medical care.
The Clayton jail’s general budget was $40.4 million last year, and jail management had requested just over $41.3 million for this year. The St. Louis County Council ultimately approved $40.1 million for this year’s budget in December — a $300,000 cut from the previous year.
Jail officials last year told council members that millions would be needed over the next five years to hire staff, provide greater training, increase mental health resources, provide new clothing for residents and conduct maintenance of the 27-year-old building.
The jail failed an American Correctional Association inspection after investigators found the jail was riddled with black mold in showers; dirty hallways, elevators and kitchen; and a leaky sprinkler system that causes frequent flooding inside the building.
But according to Chris Grahn-Howard, budget policy coordinator for the St. Louis County Council, there was no room in this year’s budget for such improvements at the jail.
“There's no extra money for that right now, because at some point we have to have a much better understanding of exactly what they want to do with the money,” Grahn-Howard said. He also noted the county's dire financial situation, with only $20,000 in appropriations on hand and significant maintenance needs for the 50-year-old Lawrence K. Roos Government Building.
“The county can't buy a car without tipping into the NFL money,” he said. “That's how bad it is.”
Grahn-Howard said the decision wasn’t made lightly as the council compared actual spending to revised budgets and adjusted allocations based on historical underspending.
For example, a division at St. Louis County Justice Services called Community Corrections requested $10,000 for office materials and supplies for this year’s budget, Grahn-Howard said. But less than $5,000 was spent on those materials last year, so the council approved $5,000.
For vehicle maintenance and repair, the department spent under $20,000 last year and requested $25,000 for this year’s budget.
And contracted medical care at the county jail is no different.
Paula Oldeg, medical director at the jail, said it requested $11 million for the professional services for this year, but the council approved $9 million.
She said the jail underspent the funding available for contracted nurses last year and noted that while cutting vacant positions appears to make sense, it means the money isn’t available when it's needed.
“We don't have staff necessarily to cover the infirmary for a patient who doesn't necessarily need a hospital level of care, but definitely needs more close monitoring for medical stability as well as for safety, for mental health concerns,” Oldeg said. “So we need staff for that area. And then lastly, we need staff for the intake area to make sure patients are healthy enough to remain in the jail.”
The jail employs six full-time public health nurses, down from 15 to 20 before the pandemic. Cuts to contracted medical care impact another roughly 20 nurses, Oldeg said. Employed nursing staff are paid between $30 and $40 per hour, and overtime is paid at time and a half. Oldeg said a nonscientific survey found that contracted nurses from local health organizations are paid $48 to $60 per hour.
Oldeg said without contracted staff, the jail cannot meet the health care needs of its 1,300 inmates because its number of core employees is so low.
“I have to give everyone credit,” Oldeg said. “Like people really do step up and cover each other, but we are just on such a thin margin that if someone were to be sick or call out, we're totally scrambling because we don't have that buffer like one would at a hospital.”
She stopped short of sharing specific examples of how detainees are affected by the shortage of health care staff, stating it’s typically “all hands on deck.”
