CEC contract extended 6 months – fee cut 75 percent

Waco – McLennan County Commissioners negotiated an extension to the contract with CEC, Inc., to operate the Jack Harwell Detention Center and the Downtown County Jail for an additional six months.

In a 3 to 2 vote, the Court accepted a pay cut from $40,000 per month to sustain the contract on the 329-bed downtown lockup to $10,000 per month, plus one dollar per day for each non-county federal inmate housed at the Detention Center.

The contract addendum will run from July 1 to December 31, “provided, however that should the population in any calendar month for the duration of this Agreement average more than 450 prisoners then the original terms of the...agreement shall instead determine the payments due to the County.”

Commissioner Kelly Snell abstained in the vote; Commissioner Joe Mashek voted against the agreement. County Judge Jim Lewis, Commissioner Lester Gibson, and Commissioner Ben Perry voted for the contract extension.

Payments after December 31 will be based on a threshold monthly average per diem rate of $52.00 and 90% capacity at the Detention Center for a period of two consecutive months. If that threshold is reached, the operator, CEC, Inc., will reopen the downtown jail.

For the first 180 days in that event, “the...fee revenue received by the County from the Downtown Jail shall not be less than $40,000 per month after re-population regardless of population...”