(NRN)-- Nebraska 1st District State Senator Dan Watermeier says the deadly riot at the Tecumseh State Prison in May, exposed problems the state needs to address.
Watermeier of Syracuse says he's satisfied with how the state has responded to the riots which left four injured and two dead at the Tecumseh prison. But, Watermeier says he worries how the riot will impact local governments. Watermeier estimates it will cost Johnson County at least 100-Thousand dollars to prosecutor the criminal cases which will arise from the riot as well as perform the two autopsies.
Watermeier says prison employees need better pay, that prisoners need more access to mental health treatment, and local counties need help to offset the costs which arise from having a prison located there. Although prisoners factor into a county's census, the economic benefits of that population boost doesn't cover the increased costs. He says the state needs to help counties with those costs. Watermeier says small counties, such as Johnson County, simply don't have the tax base to handle such costs.
© Nebraska Radio Network
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