Other articles Private Prisons: A Sensible Solution The Drain of Public Prison Systems Privatization Benefits The Decision to Privatize Private Prisons Succeed New Garza County Facility Open for Business Warden named for new Fannin County Jail Seamlessly Transfer to a Private Management Team Building Prisons with Private Financing Garza: The Little County that Still Can Fannin County Groundbreaking Ceremony Changing of the Guard House Bill 1469 and prison privatization States Can Save Money by Privatizing Prisons Polk County Detention Facility Supports Security Effort While Broadening Revenues Corplan Corrections Inc., adopts new utility free buildings Prisons, 9-11, and Corplan Corrections Corplan Correction opens another facility Recent arrivals better educated Minutemen to patrol Arizona border Border Patrol grabs 1.15 million illegals

GARZA - THE LITTLE COUNTY
THAT STILL CAN

 

Tom Stephenson

The citizens of Post and Garza County have long been made up pioneer stock---folks who are more than able to fend for themselves but happy to offer assistance to a neighbor with a moment’s notice. Ten years ago, in this rugged rural and drought stricken county of Garza, dependence on oil and cattle was not a good thing. About 45 miles South of Lubbock sits Post, the County seat and the economic situation then was a grim one.

County Judge Lee Norman recalls early attempts to woo industry to the region. “We tried to bring a Cotton Oil mill to town. We located a section of land for them and everything. We also made a run at a Peanut processing plant that needed a good railway connection and we certainly have that.”

But the businesses went elsewhere and now faced with a decreasing tax base, the eyes of the county leaders turned to an industry featuring an income stream that Judge Norman said, “might be fairly impervious to other economic factors,” they chose to erect a state-of-the art correctional facility designed by Corplan Corrections and a lease/purchase financing structure..

They became known as the “little county that could” and are now on track to elect making an early payoff of the first borrowing certificates. That means the ownership of that facility will then revert directly to the County and mortgage payments of any kind will vanish thus further increasing cash flow

The latest Garza correctional investment is a 96 bed Law Enforcement Center that will also act as headquarters for the Sheriff and his deputies, game wardens, constables and an emergency management coordinator. The building could open as soon as early 2009.

Sheriff Cliff Laws is delighted at the prospect of a centrally located law enforcement structure that will have slots for up to eight full-time deputies. Others in the building are expected to share much of the administrative and management costs which again reduces the need for tax dollars. In addition, Sheriff Law says that while the majority of those housed are likely to be pre-trial detainees from various federal agencies, many of the smaller surrounding counties “have no jails or are working with uncertified facilities and we will try our best to accommodate the housing of any of those prisoners.”

County leaders are proud to point out that though this latest expenditure (at an estimated cost of $6.8 million brings to a whopping $60 million invested by Garza in correctional facilities) not once have taxpayers been asked to put up a dime in construction costs. This latest facility is the first one to be backed by secured Revenue Bonds. If not for revenue already generated from other facilities active in the community, Garza’s ability to perform in backing those bonds could not be used in the underwriting of the project.

At present, the 1.3 million in revenues at the Giles W. Dalby Correctional Facility make up about 25 per cent of the entire county actual budget of about a $5 million budget. And Judge Newman says anticipated revenues from the new Law Enforcement Center could add another $1.3 million in revenues. However, Judge Norman reminds that above covering operations, “100 per cent of that money will be dedicated to paying off the Certificates of Obligation

The fact is that the, once left for dead, the county is growing. Traffic count on Highway 84 through Post is similar to I20 at Sweetwater with that growth sadly comes the need for housing prisoners both in Garza and the surrounding while the Bureau of Prisons is over capacity communities. The latest project will add almost 20 full times and a handful of part time jobs to the community. This addition will bring the number of workers directly employed by the facilities to more than 350

There is now an unmistakable bustle of commerce in and around Post. James M. Parkey, President of Corplan, said, “There is certainly much business activity that wasn’t here before (the building of the first facility). Thanks to the leadership in the County and their due diligence, the ‘Little County that Could’ has become the ‘Little County that Still Can.”