On August 15, 2013, in a letter to Kaufman County Judge Bruce Wood, Kaufman County Sheriff Byrnes halted all negotiations to privatize the Kaufman County Jail. Byrnes blames Kaufman County Commissioner Jimmy Vrzalik for deliberately “sabotaging the jail privatization efforts.”
Previous request for proposals (RFP) included an “employment protection clause,” states the letter from Byrnes. An amended RFP, which ultimately passed at the August 12, 2013, Commissioners' Court meeting, did not include any current employee guarantees.
Effectively, a private company could take over the day-to-day operation of the jail and replace the current county employees and/or continue to employ them with reduced salaries and benefits. Commissioners hope to save approximately $1 million annually by privatizing the county jail.
Brynes, who says he is not in favor of the privatization of the county jail, states the discussions have been ongoing for some time now in response to questions asked by Commissioner Vrzalik concerning possible savings in operational costs.
Sheriff Byrnes agreed to investigate the possible cost savings but only with the stipulation that "the current jail staff be protected as relates to their employment status and benefits."
During a telephone conversation with Commissioner Vrzalik on August 2, 2013, Byrnes states Vrzalik asked if there would be a problem moving forward with the privatization absent the employee protection clause. Byrne advised Vrzalik that, without the employee protection clause, privatization would not happen.
On August 12, 2013, Commissioner Vrzalik placed an item on the Commissioners' Court consent agenda without the employee protection clause which was subsequently passed. According to Byrnes, "This was a deliberate act to sabotage the jail privatization efforts on the part of Commissioner Vrzalik." Byrnes concluded by stating, "Therefore, all efforts and/or negotiations to privatize the Kaufman County Jail are halted."
According to the Kaufman Herald, Kaufman County Jail detention officer David Smith spoke to the commissioners at their August 12, 2013, meeting and said, “Our number one concern is the safety and security of taxpayers and other residents of Kaufman County. By definition, a private company taking over the jail, their number one priority would be to maximize their profit margins.”
According to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, as of July 1, 2013, the Kaufman County Jail housed 324 inmates bringing it to 61.02% of its capacity of 531 inmates.