Sheriff Robert F. Arnold

The Public Safety Committee approved requests Monday by the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office to impose a new fee against people charged with driving under the influence and begin the process of expanding the jail's kitchen.

Chief Deputy of Administration Joe Russell told the committee that more than 70 driving under the influence charges are issued each month in Rutherford County and there is a cost associated with taking a blood sample.

“This is different from what the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation charges," Russell said. "TBI does the testing, analysis and storage. This is just the labor to draw the blood."

Russell also told the committee the Sheriff’s Office cannot charge individuals more than it costs to take the sample, which is $100.

Commissioner Matthew Young (Dist. 16) expressed concern over individuals being charged for the blood test if found innocent.

“What if there is no court cost and there’s no alcohol in their blood, are you still going to charge them,” Young asked.

Sheriff Robert F. Arnold addressed Young saying, “no, if they’re not guilty, they’re not guilty.”

Arnold further explained the charge would be included in court costs after someone is charged with a DUI.

“We are putting medical staff in booking now to cover the county when we bring somebody in off the street instead of taking them over to the hospital,” Arnold said.

Arnold told the committee having medical staff on site to do the blood samples is saving quite a bit of officers’ time and charging for the samples will save the county money.

“Anything we get is better than what we’re getting now because we are doing the service anyway," Arnold said. "Once we’re charging for it, we are helping put money back into the county."

Expansion of the Rutherford County Adult Detention center kitchen was also discussed extensively at the meeting, with both Mayor Ernest Burgess and Arnold pushing for the renovation.

The kitchen was closed in early October after the kitchen failed an inspection by the Tennessee Corrections Institute. The agency addressed the issues of tiling, a moving interior wall, rust and lack of maintenance on the kitchen.

Renovating the kitchen is expected to cost $1.2 million, but with only $900,000 available, the county will have to find an additional $300,000 to cover the cost, Burgess explained.

The kitchen can currently handle 900 meals, but there are more inmates than the kitchen can sustain.

Burgess is concerned that population growth in the county is only going to worsen the situation over the next five to 10 years.

“Everyday that goes by, we are not moving toward a solution,” Burgess said.

The expansion would add 2,500 square feet to the kitchen allowing the facility to serve more than 1,500 meals at a time.

Commissioner Doug Shafer (Dist. 1) reminded the committee that earlier this month, the full County Commission postponed approval of new dispatch equipment because there was not enough available funding.

“We still have the communications system that we’re short on too,” Shafer said.

Arnold told the committee the projects are coming up at the same time because many of the Sheriff’s Office needs have been put aside due to other priorities within the county.

“With this facility and it not having maintenance provided for it in roughly seven years - that’s what is happening now. The Sheriff’s Office building has not been a priority and it is all catching up,” Arnold said.

Commissioner Gary Farley (Dist. 7) spoke in favor of the renovation.

“The core of the jail was designed for a certain amount of people and we’ve added extra beds to each cell," Farley said. "We are above our core. If we build, we’re building for the future. It’s not going to go away."

The county will need to come up with $480,000 to renovate the kitchen and purchase dispatch equipment.

“It’s just a matter of whether the Budget and Finance Committee wants to use the money that’s available," Burgess said. "There will be this $1 million-plus that we’re borrowing."

Commissioner Robert Peay Jr. (Dist. 4) was against moving forward with the expansion because he said he believes alternatives to the expansion have not been sufficiently explored.

“I haven’t heard what it would cost to prepare these meals outside," Peay said. "I would like to see the cost."

Both the kitchen expansion and DUI blood sample proposals have now been sent to the Budget and Finance Committee for review.