Arlington County inmates are getting new washers and dryers for their wardrobes — at a more than quarter-million dollar cost to taxpayers.
The County Board Saturday approved spending $272,550 to replace three sets of washers and dryers at the county’s detention center.
Jail officials say the washers and dryers were installed when the detention center opened nearly 20 years ago and have outgrown their life span. The equipment requires frequent service calls and major replacement parts that are no longer available, according to a county report.
“Every so often it’s necessary to do this type of thing,” said Board Chairman Jay Fisette. “It’s not like what you have at home. They scoured the [market] and got the best possible price.”
However, some Washington-region leaders have argued that jurisdictions are spending too much on inmates, especially compared with the money invested in area students.
Arlington County spent $134 per inmate each day in fiscal 2008 compared to $103 per student.
In the same year, Northern Virginia prisons spent roughly $140 per inmate each day, double the state average. According to the Virginia Compensation Board, Loudoun County spent the most in the state at nearly $170 per prisoner each day.
Throughout much of the commonwealth, average school spending dwarfs that of correctional facilities.
The police department and area homeless shelters also use the laundry units, the county manager reported. On average, the detention facility houses 625 prisoners.
The price tag is steeper, officials says, because the equipment can’t be built at the detention center and the industrial washers and dryers are too large to fit through the doors. Part of the funding is for installing bigger doors to accommodate the equipment.
County officials contend it would be far more expensive to outsource the laundry.
A $35,550 contingency fee was added to the $237,000 contract awarded to Combined Services, Inc., the lowest of the bidders.
The county recently approved a $955 million budget, reliant on an average increase of $346 in property taxes next fiscal year.
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