It expires this year, but already plans are to cease collecting kickbacks for phone calls. MDOC has an existing contract with Securus. The city plans to use the better revenue forecasts and federal American Rescue Act funds” to cover half that revenue ($350,000) and take some pressure off telephone fees until the end of the new contract. Mayor Greg Fischer estimated the MDOC would generate revenue of $700,000 from telephone kickbacks for the year 2021. “We should not be funding our jail on the back of the families whose loved ones are inmates and should be doing all we can to keep families connected to their loved ones, to ease reentry and reduce recidivism,” stated Budget Committee Chair Bill Hollander. The current plan is too much of a hardship on families of the prisoners. Lawmakers told MDOC director, Dwayne Clark, to create a new plan eliminating phone fees for prisoners and families by the beginning of next year. Calls to cell phones have a flat $9.99 fee. Current calls cost prisoners and their families $1.85 for 15-minute calls to local landlines, inter- and intrastate calls have additional per-minute fees. MDOC currently contracts with Dallas, Texas communications giant Securus Technologies for its jail phone system. Louisville, Kentucky’s Metro Department of Corrections (MDOC) who operates the city jail has been ordered by the Metro Council Budget Committee to stop charging prisoners for phone calls from the jail by December 31, 2021. Share: Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on G+ Share with email
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