Flagler County commissioners Thursday evening agreed to take on a $100,000 mental-health jail diversion program previously paid for by the state, and a $60,000 pre-trial release program they had opposed in earlier workshops. Both shifts took place during a hearing devoted to approving next year’s tax property rate.
pre-trial release
Nickel and Diming County Foregoes Program That Would Have Reduced Jail Population
The Flagler County judge and sheriff had supported a proposed pre-trial release program that would have kept low-grade, non-violent offenders out of jail, saving them money in the short term and the county money in the long term, but the county commission eliminated the proposal as part of a $400,000 cut from next year’s budget proposal.