As most residents of Cheshire county know, the debate over where to site the new county jail has been going on for many years, primarily bcause of a convoluted system that pits one group against another like kids fighting to be king of the hill.
There is the county delegation charged with finding a suitable site, but the 20+ member county commission is in charge of the pursestrings-and neither group can agree on anything other than 1.they can’t agree and 2. the price tag keeps rising the longer the delay. It’s obvious (at least to me) that left alone,these folks will continue to endlessly debate and ultimately do nothing but accuse each other of being the problem.
Why is the county even involved? There are private, for-profit jail operators in other parts of the country…why not here? All that would need to happen is to put the project out for bid and let the market take its course.
This leads to the next logical question-why do we even need a county government? Their biggest jobs of correction and nursing homes can be handled better and cheaper by private companies. What other duties are so important that we need another layer of government to accomplish them? County Sheriffs? Make them State Troopers.
The county layer of beauracracy should be abolished and their duties folded into local, state, or better yet free market operations.
