County cuts $1.5 million from law enforcement center budget

    The Ford County Commission has cut a little over $1 million from the budget for building the new law enforcement center and is looking for other savings, Ford County Administrator Ed Elam said Friday.
    The commission decided Thursday to include space for administrative offices and a work release program in the law enforcement center but leave them unfinished for the time being, Elam said. The decision, plus other changes, will trim about $1.5 million from the project budget.
    However, Elam said, the commissioners has more work to do to bring the cost down to keep it under the maximum allowable cost of $21 million.
    "We're going to have to keep an eye on the project and make sure it's continuing on schedule and on budget," he said.
    Commission Chairman Kim Goodnight said in a phone interview Friday night that he was optimistic the county would find ways to hold the cost down without cutting essential features.
    The county broke ground last month for the law enforcement center, located at 113 Road and Comanche Street near the Ford County Fire/EMS building. Plans call for construction to take between 16 and 17 months, with an estimated opening date of January 2010.
    Bids for the law enforcement center originally came in at about $20.9 million, but that did not include the expense of putting in water and sewer lines. The county has capped the maximum cost of the project at $21 million.
    The commission went ahead and accepted bids for the project Thursday because they were set to expire the next day. Then the commission approved change orders to leave the administrative offices and work-release area unfinished and make other changes to reduce the cost.
    Ford County Sheriff Dean Bush said in a phone interview that he thought the county would still be able to complete the jail on time without exceeding the $21 million cap.
    "The jail all along has been the priority, so we're going to get there and not lose any functionality or anything significant," he said. "We had to kind of look at the cost, so I think it'll work."
    Bush said he thought the county might be able to add a work-release program to the jail at some point, and that officials should have more information on that issue in about 30 days.
    Goodnight said the county has left open the possibility that a work-release program could be included later on.
    "If everything works out with maybe a memo of understanding with the city, working with them, then we'll go ahead and we'll finish that area out," he said.
    He added that the work-release program could generate revenue that could help offset the cost of the law enforcement center.

Reach Eric Swanson at (620) 408-9917 or e-mail him at eric.swanson@dodgeglobe.com.