The Greene County government has been given until Dec. 3 to have a plan in place for expansion or replacement of the County Detention Center, or face "decertification" from the Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI).

County Sheriff Steve Burns passed along the warning when he and County Commissioner Jerry Weems reported Monday to the Greene County Commission about their appearance last week at a TCI meeting in Nashville.

Both men said they believe that if county officials have a plan in place by Dec. 3, decertification can be avoided, but without a plan, decertification is likely.

Sheriff Burns said that if the detention center, or jail, were to be decertified by the TCI, that status would remain in effect for a year.

"Once they decertify -- or certify -- that's for a year," Burns told the county commission.

Nothing would happen immediately, the sheriff said, but decertification would leave the county much more vulnerable should an inmate file a lawsuit alleging overcrowding.

He reminded the commission that an inmate lawsuit in the 1980s led to construction of the current jail under the direction of a federal court order, and a similar lawsuit in 1997 resulted in the construction of the workhouse under similar circumstances, also under a court order.

An inmate lawsuit could create problems for housing federal inmates, as well, the sheriff said, and would at minimum cause the U.S. Marshal's service to "take a harder look" when making its own inspections.

Burns said he asked the U.S. Marshal's Service to consider "temporarily" reducing the number of federal prisoners housed in the Greene County Jail while awaiting trial or sentencing, and proposed that idea to the TCI, but it was not accepted.

He said that such a reduction could allow the detention center to "very temporarily" get down to its 159-bed capacity. But he said TCI officials appeared to understand the county government's financial need to house state and federal inmates.

Last year, the county received about $1 million from housing an average of 55 federal inmates daily, and that amount of projected revenue is part of this year's county operating budget.

Burns said the County Detention Center has been averaging more than 90 federal inmates this fall, and revenue from the number of inmates above 55 is being set aside to be used for improvements there.

He said that, even if the number of federal inmates were to be cut in half, the detention center, or jail, would still be "about full."

Greene County also houses relatively large numbers of prisoners who are in state custody. Burns explained that the county has a contract to house local inmates who are sentenced to the Tennessee Department of Corrections for terms of up to three years. The chief advantage of this contract is that it limits the county's liability for state inmate medical expenses to $1,000 per inmate.

Burns said his suggestion of reducing crowding by temporarily reducing the number of federal inmates did not seem to sway TCI officials.

Weems said TCI officials asked Melody Gregory, the state's jail inspector, why she recommended certification last year, since the problem has existed for several years.

Weems said Gregory attempted to help Greene County officials make their case, but wound up on the "hot seat" herself.

In late 2007, Gregory approved plans for converting an exercise area in the jail into a pod to house about 30 female inmates.

At the same time, however, Gregory told the Greene County government that, in addition to making those improvements, a long-range plan for addressing overall crowding at the detention center, or jail, had to be in place by the end of 2008.

Sheriff Burns recommended earlier this year that the county delay converting the pod, which would have cost about $300,000, because that effort would have been wasted if the county's long-range choice was to be a new detention center and justice center on a new site.

Three committees studied renovating and expanding the jail downtown, converting an existing building to a jail, and building a new detention center and justice center on a new site.

Eventually, the consensus of the three committees appeared to favor constructing a new detention center on a new site, specifically the Hartman tract at the intersection of U.S. Highway 11E and Hal Henard Road, though that feeling was not unanimous.

Sheriff Burns has said he thinks that the new jail and justice center can be funded without a property tax increase, because additional space will allow additional revenue from housing more federal inmates awaiting trial and sentencing in U.S. District Court here.

No action was taken Monday. But a full county commission workshop was scheduled later for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 3, in the chancery courtroom in the county courthouse.`

Other workshops have involved the three committees working on jail problems -- Law Enforcement, Courthouse/Workhouse and Budget -- plus local judges and others.

Weems is chairman of the Courthouse/Workhouse Committee but when the three committees have met jointly in recent months, he has chaired those meetings. Functionally, the courthouse/workhouse deals most directly with problems at the Greene County Detention Center, or jail, downtown, and with the workhouse on Summer Street.

Architect Dave Wright told the commission that the preliminary report on 40 core drillings conducted at a 54-acre site being considered for a new detention center and justice center appear favorable.

Wright said the preliminary study indicates that the site has subsurface rock, and some rock outcroppings are visible on the surface. He said this may increase construction costs there somewhat.

However, Wright said the study showed good land that will compact well, and no environmental problems. The full report is due either this week or next, he said.