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Bexar County Commissioners on Tuesday will take up what is one of the biggest drains for taxpayer dollars — the crowded adult detention center.
The county spent nearly $20 million this fiscal year on overtime for deputies to staff the county jail and to pay Burnet and Kerr Counties to house dozens of Bexar inmates.
The jail consistently holds and maintains around 5,000 inmates.
Jail diversion programs will be discussed by commissioners as possible solutions to the problem. Many inmates would be better served by being in a mental treatment of substance abuse treatment center.
There are no easy answers to jail crowding.
The jail has been a headache for Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar and the current commissioners court, as it has been for all their predecessors for many years.
Building an even bigger jail would likely come with a price tag that starts with a "B" as in billions of dollars, so that $20 million pales in comparison but does add up over the years.
In other action, commissioners will discuss behind closed doors negotiations with rodeo officials on the redevelopment of the rodeo grounds.
Also, while in executive session, they will discuss negotiations concerning economic development around a planned Missions baseball park downtown expected to open in 2028.
Commissioners will also discuss approving up to $10 million dollars to develop a linear park connecting new and proposed county parking garages to the San Pedro Creek Cultural Park.
Also, on the agenda are ceremonial items that recognize Jewish Heritage Month; National Animal Therapy Day; the 150th anniversary of the first Masonic Lodge of African Americans in the State of Texas; San Antonio Lodge No. 1; Bexar County Small Business Week; and the Greater San Antonio Chapter of the American Red Cross.
