Butler County Prison officials are watching developments around a recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission to cap charges prisons impose on inmate phone calls, which could cost the prison $30,000 to $40,000 a month.

Warden Beau Sneddon told the prison board Tuesday, Sept. 17, he will keep them updated about developments regarding the FCC’s decision to reduce the cost of calls made to and from inmates from 21 cents a minute to 7 cents a minute.

The commission’s July decision was to take effect in April 2025, but implementation is delayed until April 2026, Sneddon told the board. Prison officials said the decision is facing challenges in court.

“We can no longer make money, which we do now,” Sneddon said to the board.

He said the prison takes in $40,000 a month in revenue from the calls.

The prison’s contract with Smart Communications for inmate calls might need to be amended next year to comply with the FCC rule, he said. Currently, the contract gives the prison 80% of the revenue from the calls and allows Smart Communications to keep 20%, Sneddon said after the prison board meeting.

He said the money the prison makes from the calls goes into the budget and is used to help cover operational costs, saving tax dollars.

Sneddon said he supports the rule because he believes it was created to protect inmates’ families from price gouging.

In other business, the board authorized Sneddon to price a new radio system for the prison and include the amount as a capital expense in the 2025 budget.

The motion was made and approved after Sneddon said interference problems are persisting with the $104,000 system the prison bought from BearCom. The system provides digital service, but the company switched it to analog service after the interference issues surfaced.

He said BearCom has sent technicians with 30 years of experience to the prison to troubleshoot the radios and technicians are returning next week, but a solution remains elusive.