Our Five Asks

We are requesting that the County establish a publicly accessible and regularly updated transparency process for jail telecommunications agreements and related financial information. This would include the annual publication of telecommunications contract terms, per-minute call rates, fee schedules, ancillary service charges, and any revenue or commission payments received by the County through the contract.

At present, access to this information has been limited. The full terms of the County's 2020 telecommunications contract, including commission structures and payment provisions, were not publicly available through routine disclosure and instead became accessible through a public records request submitted by NowKalamazoo in 2025, approximately five years after the agreement was executed.

Establishing a proactive disclosure process would improve public accessibility to information related to publicly administered telecommunications services and would reduce the need for formal records requests to obtain foundational contract and pricing information. Public availability of these materials would also support greater transparency regarding how telecommunications systems are structured, funded, and administered within the local correctional system.

People leaving jail frequently maintain unused balances in prepaid telecommunications accounts associated with jail phone and communication services. In many cases, individuals and their families are unaware that these funds may be subject to inactivity or dormancy policies that can result in the forfeiture of remaining balances after a specified period of nonuse. Because this information is often not communicated clearly or consistently at the time of release, individuals may unknowingly lose money that was deposited by family members or support networks for communication purposes during incarceration.

This concern is not isolated. National litigation addressing industry-wide inactivity forfeiture practices found that, over a ten-year period, approximately $96 million was collected from incarcerated individuals and their families through unused account balance forfeitures. Although that litigation resulted in a federal settlement, implementation of consumer protections and notification practices continues to vary significantly at the local level.

To promote transparency, fairness, and informed decision-making, we recommend that the County establish a formal balance notification and recovery procedure as part of the jail release process. Prior to release, individuals should either:

1. Be assisted in recovering or transferring any remaining telecommunications account balance; or
2. Receive a clear verbal and written explanation outlining:
   • the existence of any remaining balance,
   • the applicable inactivity or forfeiture policy,
   • the timeframe in which action must be taken, and
   • the steps required to reclaim remaining funds.

As part of this process, individuals should be provided an opportunity to acknowledge receipt of this information through a signed disclosure form.

Implementing a standardized notification procedure would represent a low-cost and administratively feasible reform that advances consumer awareness, strengthens institutional transparency, and helps protect individuals and families from preventable financial loss.

We are requesting consideration of a contract structure that does not rely on revenue generated from incarcerated individuals and their families through jail telecommunications services. This would include eliminating percentage-based commission payments tied to call revenue, as well as avoiding upfront signing incentives connected to the awarding of the telecommunications contract.

The FCC's updated rules, effective April 6, 2026, establish this as a federal minimum: site commissions are prohibited on new inmate communications contracts. The new contract being procured under RFP #2026009 will be subject to this requirement. What we are asking the County to do goes one step further: to write that prohibition explicitly into the local contract language as an enforceable term, rather than relying solely on federal compliance mechanisms. Federal enforcement is complaint-driven and can be slow. A contract-level prohibition gives the County its own direct grounds to act if a vendor attempts to introduce commission arrangements during the life of the agreement.

Under the current structure, the County receives a substantial percentage of revenue generated from jail phone calls. This arrangement directly impacts the cost of communication services and contributes to local call rates that are significantly higher than those charged within the Michigan Department of Corrections for comparable services provided by the same vendor. Following the removal of commission-based provisions during the Michigan Department of Corrections contract renegotiation process, call rates were reduced substantially. This demonstrates that alternative contract models are operationally feasible and can materially reduce the financial burden associated with communication access for incarcerated individuals and their families.

We are requesting that the County include a defined per-minute rate ceiling within the telecommunications Request for Proposals (RFP), with a maximum allowable rate set at or below $0.10 per minute for voice calls.

The FCC's updated rules, effective April 6, 2026, establish the federal minimum for a facility of this size. Kalamazoo County Jail, with an average daily population of approximately 500, falls under the Medium Jails tier (350-999 ADP). Under the 2025 IPCS Order, the effective rate cap for audio calls at a facility in this tier is $0.12 per minute. The current contract rate of $0.18 per minute would not meet the requirements of the updated rules if the contract were signed today. The new contract being procured under RFP #2026009 must come in at or below that $0.12 federal ceiling.

What we are asking the County to do goes one step further. The federal ceiling is a maximum, not a target. A rate of $0.12 per minute would still represent a significant cost to families over a five-year contract term. We are asking the County to use its procurement process to push below that ceiling and establish $0.10 per minute as the maximum allowable rate in the RFP itself.

This is an achievable ask. The Michigan Department of Corrections renegotiated its telecommunications agreement with the same vendor that currently serves Kalamazoo County Jail and achieved a rate of $0.0735 per minute, down from $0.14 per minute, following the removal of commission-based provisions. A $0.10 ceiling sits between the federal floor and what the state prison system already pays. It is a reasonable and well-supported benchmark, not an aspirational one.

Without a written rate ceiling in the RFP, vendors may propose rates that comply with the federal cap but still leave families paying more than necessary. A written ceiling in the procurement requirements is how meaningful cost reductions get built into the contract from the start.

We are requesting that the County include explicit contractual language within the new telecommunications agreement prohibiting the use of deposit fees, transaction fees, live operator surcharges, and similar ancillary charges associated with communication services.

The FCC's updated rules, effective April 6, 2026, establish this as a federal minimum: ancillary fees of this type are prohibited on new inmate communications contracts. The new contract being procured under RFP #2026009 will be subject to this requirement. What we are asking the County to do goes one step further: to write that prohibition explicitly into the local contract language as an enforceable term. Federal enforcement is complaint-driven, which means a violation may continue for some time before any federal action is taken. A contract-level prohibition gives the County its own direct grounds to hold a vendor accountable if ancillary fees are charged, independent of any federal process.

These fees operate independently from both per-minute call rates and commission-based revenue structures. As a result, the elimination of commission payments alone would not prevent the continuation of additional service charges that increase the overall cost of communication for incarcerated individuals and their families. Under the current contract structure, transaction-related fees can substantially increase the effective cost of a call beyond the stated per-minute rate.

Federal regulatory agencies have also identified concerns regarding the transparency and disclosure of ancillary telecommunications fees within correctional communication systems, including circumstances in which consumers were not provided clear or timely notice regarding the charges being assessed prior to payment. Absent specific contractual restrictions at the local level, ancillary fees may continue under a future agreement regardless of whether broader commission structures are modified or eliminated.