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Dutchess County Justice & Transition Center Size, Cost To Be Reduced, Molinaro Says

The size and cost of the plans for the Dutchess County Justice & Transition Center have been reduced due to budgetary and legislative changes, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro announced Wednesday, May 22.

Dutchess County Justice & Transition Center size and cost will be reduced, County Executive Marc Molinaro says

Dutchess County Justice & Transition Center size and cost will be reduced, County Executive Marc Molinaro says

Photo Credit: Dutchess County

Officials say the County received agreement from the New York State Commission of Correction (COC) to push back the final design plan approval for the center, citing New York State bail reforms and Dutchess County’s successful diversion programs.

The COC agreed to extend the final design approval until the end of the year and consider a redesign intended to “significantly reduce” the facility’s size and cost, recognizing the County’s efforts to reduce the inmate population.

“The dynamic of the criminal justice system has drastically changed with the passage of bail reform and will have a significant impact on local county jail facilities,” said County Executive Molinaro. “We are grateful to the COC for allowing us to ‘pause’ in our timeline and redesign the Dutchess County Justice & Transition Center to reduce the size of the facility and save taxpayers millions of dollars.”

New York State bail reform initiatives will go into effect starting Jan. 1, 2020. They are expected to have a significant impact on local county jail populations: in most cases, individuals charged with misdemeanors and non-violent felonies will no longer be remanded to jail.

Currently, the majority of the individuals in Dutchess County Jail are awaiting trial. Under the new legislation, most of the suspects would be issued appearance tickets rather than being sent to jail by the courts.

The timeline for the DCJTC necessitates design approval in May, with construction beginning in the Fall of 2019. The facility has an anticipated completion time of December 2023.

The reduced facility size is expected to save the county construction costs totaling $8 million and reduce annual operational costs by as much as $2.5 million, officials say.

“This is great news for Dutchess County, and I applaud County Executive Molinaro for continually focusing on building a better, smarter, more efficient facility that will work to rehabilitate those in the criminal justice system,” said Gregg Pulver, Chairman of the Dutchess County Legislature. “I’m happy the Commission of Correction has recognized the efficacy of our programs to reduce recidivism and will allow us to present a new plan to best deliver them.”.

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