Hays County Sheriff Tommy Ratliff kept his losses low in Buda and was marginally favored across the county, winning the Democratic nomination to fill the rest of the term left unexpired when the late Sheriff Allen Bridges died in December 2008.

The cost of incarcerating criminals keeps rising for Hays County. Not only has the county already blown its 2010 budget for holding prisoners out of county, but repairs to the Hays County Jail are running about $200,000 higher than anticipated.

Challenger Bill Huddleston came out firing against Hays County Sheriff Tommy Ratliff in the San Marcos Area League of Women Voters debate last week. Huddleston and Ratliff are competing in the March 2 primary election for the Democratic nomination.

Hays County officials received a nod of approval Thursday from the State of Texas for trying to bring the county jail into compliance with state law. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards found the Hays County Jail kitchen to be deficient on four consecutive occasions last year.

Hays County’s governing body resumed course towards up to $74 million in capital improvements and bond sales after dropping anchor briefly last week to check for dark economic clouds on the horizon.

Amidst news of a projected tax increase next fiscal year and fears of a decline in county-wide property appraisals, Hays County Commissioners talked this week about slowing their dash towards massive capital improvement expenditures planned for the near future. As commissioners wait on more precise revenue projections for the coming year, projects on the drawing board could wait in limbo, including a $73 million government center, a $50-60 million jail, $48 million in road work and $10 million in parks and open space allocations.

Receiving the inspection results they hoped for, Hays County Commissioners are about to challenge the state’s order that they shut down the kitchen in the Hays County Jail.

The Hays County Commissioners Court hopes to persuade the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) to revise an order to shut down the county jail’s kitchen. At the least, the commissioners could make the penalty moot by procedural means.

Hays County officials said last Friday that they met a 30-day deadline with a letter on that day to show the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) progress on bringing the county jail into compliance with state regulations. The TCJS indicated that it would accept a letter for the purpose of meeting the Oct. 31 deadline.

Because they had to call off Tuesday’s meeting after failing to properly post the agenda, Hays County commissioners will miss an Oct. 31 deadline to address the county jail’s non-compliance with state jail standards. The head of the state’s jail standards commission said, “Hays County has got some explaining to do.”