Two Bridges Regional Jail Authority discovered July 11, very little business had been done the previous month. Not a single committee had met, their chairs acknowledged.

The Finance Committee had some numbers but no report because it did not meet. Chair Carrie Kipfer said there was an unspent balance due to a labor shortage at the jail.

One by one, the chairs were asked, and one by one they reported they had not met.

“You didn’t ask about Buildings and Grounds,” Chair Brett Strout pointed out to the authority’s chair, Peter Lepari.

Lepari asked, “Is there a report from Buildings and Grounds?”

“No, we didn’t meet,” Strout said, smiling.

Then the authority went into executive session to discuss how to proceed with contract negotiations with Penobscot County. Penobscot had been reluctant to negotiate until the state clarified how much funding counties could expect for their jails. Penobscot had had a temporary contract with Two Bridges to house some inmates at TBRJ. The funding bill passed finally July 9 when the Legislature overrode Gov. Paul LePage's veto.

When the authority came out of executive session, it voted to give Administrator James Bailey authority to negotiate a contract with Penobscot County, under terms discussed in the executive session, and to sign the contract with Penobscot.

Bailey also outlined his staffing shortage. The jail is down seven correctional officers, although two part-timers and one full-time employee are expected to be brought on board soon, he said.