Georgia Sheriff Takes $160,000 Kickback from Pay Tel for Video Visitation
Under contract provisions that went into effect on January 1, 2024, prison telecom giant Pay Tel secured a monopoly on video visitation services at Georgia’s Glynn County Jail. A contract addendum inked in June 2023 says that the firm paid for the privilege with a $160,000 “technology grant” made to the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO).
Sheriff Neal Jump called it a “line of credit” against future commissions the jail is due from all services that Pay Tel provides, but the contract addendum shows the money is a bonus. That appears to run afoul of a county ordinance barring “kickbacks,” defined to include “any payment, gratuity … [or] inducement for the award of a contract or purchase of or for securing, any other objective sought by persons contracting, or seeking to contract with the County.”
County spokesperson Katie Baasen refused to verify GCSO’s compliance with that law, noting that Jump is an elected official and the county commission does not exercise financial oversight over his operations. It was also unclear whether Pay Tel might apply for tax credits under a state law signed in 2022 by Gov. Brian Kemp (R) that offsets donations to law enforcement foundations from a $75 million pool. GCSO does not have a foundation, but even if it did, “donations” are not allowed from companies doing business with the Sheriff’s Office.
Pay Tel’s contract provision allows GSCO to use the kickback to purchase “equipment or technology selected by the Sheriff’s Office.” Jump said he planned to replace two “pursuit vehicles” that were wrecked during a February 2023 high-speed chase. If another telecom company offered a better deal, he added, he would not hesitate to sign on and save even more taxpayer money.
But GCSO isn’t saving taxpayers anywhere near as much as it forces detainees and their loved ones to give Pay Tel for the privilege of keeping in touch— at a per-minute rate of 30 cents, that amounts to $6 per 20-minute video call.In return, GSCO gets 25% of that amount, which at least is less than its kickback from phone calls; at 69% of what Pay Tel charges, that “commission” rate is the highest of any coastal Georgia county. Like all those counties, Glynn has also profited by extending COVID-19 pandemic visitation bans, driving detainees to the expensive telecom services, as PLN has reported. [See PLN, Aug. 2023, p.12.]
Source: Georgia Current
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