The State Board of Corrections is scheduled to review recommendations at their June 19 meeting from a recent audit report.

The RHR SMITH & Company audited the state corrections system last month. If the BOC accepts some of those recommendations it could mean changes in the way the board does business.

Lincoln County Administrator John O'Connell, a member of the state Committee Working Group and a representative of the Maine Association of County Clerks, Administrators and Managers, said he is prepared to participate in the critical discussions that will take place over the next few weeks and months.

According to O'Connell, the RHR SMITH report shows that the current arrangement with the state correctional system is unworkable, underfunded, poorly structured and not understood by many of the stakeholders.

"No doubt there will be quibbles about certain elements of the report but the 'preponderance of the evidence' remains – we have a serious problem," O'Connell said. "We have the information and opportunity for some fresh thinking. It truly is now or never."

Currently, the county and state systems are disconnected, which diminishes the counties' incentive to save, according to the audit report.

Apparently, written the consolidation law the state is required to pay a portion to the counties that have a debt on a county jail. To date the state has not fulfilled that requirement.

For more information, see related stories:

Inmates back in Somerset jail

Board visits Wiscasset