Board approves FY25 commissary budget; commissary vendor and reentry contract changed

The Prince William County jail board approved the FY25 commissary budget following a presentation by the budget director on year-to-date spending, proposed line items and recent contract awards.

The budget director told the board that year-to-date commissary spending was about $480,000 (about 42% of the commissary budget) and said some projects had been delayed for timing and weather. He outlined proposed changes for FY25, including a $35,000 annual stipend request for the jail ministry chaplain program and new or increased funding lines: a $20,000 increase for medication-assisted-treatment (MAT) program costs to accommodate SUBLOCADE injections and a $20,000 line for mental-health programming (including weekly yoga classes).

On contracts, the director said the commissary-management RFP selected a new vendor: “we selected a vendor in April and awarded that work to Keith Commissary Network,” replacing Oasis. He said negotiation produced a commission rate of 49.5% (compared with Oasis at 49.28%) and that the sheriff signed the contract that evening. He also said the reentry-services contract was re-awarded to GEO Reentry Services with a 3% annual increase from the prior contract and that the sheriff signed that contract as well.

After discussion, Speaker 6 moved to approve the FY25 commissary budget and Speaker 1 seconded. The board conducted a roll call and the motion carried with affirmative votes recorded for the members called.

The director also noted a planned upcoming solicitation for inmate dental services later in the summer or early fall and recommended carrying forward television infrastructure funding to complete that project after the piping work finishes. Any carryforward or amendment to pay earlier bills before June 30 would be brought back to the board, he said.