Lindsey State Jail hosts community meeting

Lindsey State Jail officials gave a brief update on happenings at the facility during a community meeting Thursday morning.

Warden Brian Collins spoke about an increase in employee retention after raises brought the minimum starting salary up to $18 an hour recent with help from TDCJ and Management Training Corporation, which owns the jail. Add $1 an hour for people at two intervals in the first year and most recent hires are making $20 an hour, Collins said.

The facility is still about half staffed, which means the facility has just over 600 inmates with a capacity of 1,033. Collins said the rate of staff leaving has dropped significantly, however.

The jail, with its air conditioned facility and being a cool bed unit, has had its clientele change over the last several months with inmates being older and having more medical conditions with inmates being able to see medical personnel normally within 12 hours, Collins explained.

MTC Region 3 Supervisor Kerry Dixon, who supervises Texas facilities for the company, said it’s the whole staff working together as a team and doing what needs to be done, that makes things great.

State Rep. David Spiller said having MTC more interested in rehabbing inmates is a great way to keep inmates here from being repeat offenders.

Collins said the speaker the facility had lined up was unable to make it. Charles Fisher with Bridges of Life, a volunteer Christian organization which works with inmates not being repeat offenders, was scheduled.

Collins hopes to reschedule him for another meeting.