Johnson: ‘It appears the dialogue is much better now.’

Mayor Mike Moncrief mentioned at an Aug. 24 workshop session that he and Fort Worth City Council member Chuck Silcox were “trying to talk” to county officials about a new jail contract. The city attorney nodded his head, city council members said little, and then everybody moved on to other business. Two hours later, City Manager Gary Jackson announced his resignation at the city council meeting.

While Moncrief’s statement was unrelated to Jackson’s decision, it was a fitting juxtaposition.

Public outcries about trash collection, annexations, and a city-funded hotel proposal helped push Jackson out of his job, even though he inherited most of those issues after coming to Fort Worth three and a half years ago. Most people forget that one of Jackson’s first actions was to lead the city in jail contract negotiations — and thereby alienate almost everyone on the county side. The result, in December 2001: The city and county parted in a huff, and Fort Worth ended up with the inconvenient arrangement by which it sends its prisoners all the way to Mansfield, 30 minutes away, for incarceration. Jackson was city manager in Carrollton before coming to Cowtown, and, as one county employee recently put it, Jackson “brought a Dallas attitude to Fort Worth and acted like he was this big-city slicker and we were a bunch of hicks.”

Since then, county officials haven’t shown much interest in re-establishing a contract with the city, and Jackson and the police chief seemed content with the Mansfield arrangement. Yet the dance — or, more accurately, the introductory curtsies and bows — between the city and county on this issue have begun once again. Among those attending an informal meeting on Sept. 15 were the mayor, Silcox, new interim City Manager Charles Boswell, County Commissioner J.D. Johnson, and County Administrator G.K. Maenius.

“We’ve started preliminary discussions with them,” Silcox said. “The jail contract is up in 2006, and you don’t wait to the last second to start talking about whether you want to continue the contract.”

The city’s options include staying with Mansfield, returning to the county arrangement, or building its own jail. Moncrief said during his 2003 mayoral campaign that a new city-county agreement was a top priority. “It doesn’t make sense for Fort Worth to not be using the county jail,” he said. “It’s the logical place.”

Voters elected Moncrief in May 2003, and his plate quickly filled with everything from complaints about trash to drownings at the Water Gardens, 100-mph storm winds, and all the other relentless city business. Yet his recent remark about reopening negotiations comes at a time when stars seem to be aligning in support of a new agreement — especially considering that, as a former county judge, Moncrief knows the territory on both sides of the fence.

Jackson’s resignation was the first step. His absence “can only help” negotiations in the future, a county employee said. Still, Jackson didn’t single-handedly doom the partnership. The relationship had been strained for years.

In 1985, Fort Worth and Tarrant County combined resources to build a police administration building at 350 W. Belknap St. with a county jail on its upper floors. The deal included a 10-year contract for the county to hold the city’s prisoners, with Fort Worth paying $6 to process each prisoner plus $1 a day for housing.

The contract expired in 1996, with the county complaining it was taking a financial beating on the deal. The city was still paying $6 for processing, but the daily housing fee had increased to $30 a day. A 1997 jail study showed the county’s costs had risen to $99 for prisoner processing and $40 a day for housing.

A renegotiated contract seemed impossible at the time because former Sheriff David Williams was warring with county commissioners and becoming a near-recluse. So the old contract was renewed year after year.

On Jan. 1, 2001, the more sociable Dee Anderson took over as sheriff, and he hired a new jail administrator. Two months later, Jackson became city manager and teamed with then-Mayor Kenneth Barr. Negotiations for a new contract were soon under way with hopes that fresh perspectives would help in hammering out an agreement.

Didn’t happen.

Now Barr is gone and Jackson is de-clawed (he remains in a consultant’s role through December). Jackson’s replacement, Charles Boswell, is a long-time Fort Worth resident and Texas Christian University graduate who has worked for the city since 1977 and could hardly be described as a snobbish city slicker.

The new faces on the city’s side of the table could equate to a more productive outcome. “It appears the dialogue is much better now,” Johnson said. “You can discuss things, and everybody is not sitting around all defensive. They can say what they think, and you can say what you think and then move on down the road.”

An obstacle remains: There is currently no room at the jail. Renovation projects have reduced the number of beds, and inmate population is near capacity. Relief probably won’t arrive for another year, when a renovation will add about 575 beds at the county’s Green Bay facility. Commissioners are discussing a bond election that could include money for a new maximum-security jail, which would mean more beds and more incentive for the city and county to hook up again.

“We’re looking at better ways to do things rather than to duplicate services,” Johnson said. “We’re trying save the taxpayers some money.” l