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Order To Cut Jail Costs Bears Fruit

Tribune photo by JIM REED

Col. Jim Previtera looks at data from TECO that tells him if his efforts are working to save on the jail's electric bill.

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 15, 2008

Faced with the prospect of rising rates, with electric bills at his jails already in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Col. Jim Previtera got a bright idea – cut down on energy use by any safe means necessary.

Last month, Previtera ordered his staff to immediately conserve energy on the job. He told detention department personnel to cut down on water, electricity and fossil fuel use.

Previtera, the new head of the county's jails, says the plan already has produced major results.

Falkenburg had $193,730 in charges from Tampa Electric Co. for September. Orient Road Jail racked up $120,355 in charges for that month.

In October, Falkenburg's bill was about $37,300 less; Orient Road's was about $22,600 less. Some of the nearly $60,000 in cost savings is likely attributable to weather changes, he said, but much of it also has to do with the orders he handed down.

It's crucial to cut down on power usage, especially with shrinking budgets overall and the fact that TECO customers will face increases in their electric bills next year, Previtera said. TECO says the 12-percent increase is necessary to cover higher costs for coal, oil and natural gas, which are used to generate electricity.

"I'm harping on every detail with cost cutting and doing more with less," said Previtera, a former Secret Service agent who was promoted Sept. 30 to the rank of colonel. "The things we can control, we need to control."

TECO also wants to help the jails save energy, and the company is coming to the jails Wednesday and Thursday o perform an energy audit. The audit could include checking air conditioning and heating units, said Curtis Simmons, senior coordinator for energy management services at TECO.

Simmons said it was prudent for the jails to try to cut cost unnecessary energy use.

"I applaud the colonel for his efforts," Simmons said. "Overall, it helps everyone in the community."

Among Previtera's orders to staff last month:

When areas such as storage rooms, closets and offices aren't in use, lights should be turned off.

Copiers and computers should be off when offices aren't in use.

Deputies should closely monitor washers and dryers for inmates, making sure loads are maximized.

Jail deputies also now have the discretion to turn on or shut off lights in inmate housing units.

"For us, it's more about cost savings than going green," Previtera said. "But everybody is going green, and you can't ignore our responsibility to do that."

More ideas are now being floated, Previtera said, including serving about four less hot meals a week for inmates in an effort to cut down on the power use of jail ovens. That plan wouldn't reduce inmate calorie intake, and the cost and nutrition of the new food options would be comparable. Potentially, he said, it might mean that instead of having a chicken pot pie and vegetables, an inmate could be offered a sandwich and fruit salad.

Previtera also is looking into the cost of motion sensors so that some lights will turn off when no one is in areas such as closets or storage rooms.

The changes made within the jails still allow for the same level of safety for deputies and inmates, he said.

At Deputy Edward Murphy's discretion, the overhead lights were off in Housing Unit 2 one recent afternoon. Natural light still flowed in.

Murphy said he was glad to have the choice.

"It's a good thing," he said. ""It allows me to get my trusties a little extra sleep without the bright lights in their eyes. We're saving money, and it's not so bright now in the area."

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691.

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