COUNTY CONSIDERS LEASING UNUSED JAIL TO PRIVATE OPERATOR.

Byline: David Bloom Daily News Staff Writer

Los Angeles County officials, lacking money to open and run the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, will look at leasing the vacant jail near downtown Los Angeles to other operators.

``I raise the issue to broach the unthinkable,'' Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said Thursday. He called for a study of money-making alternatives for the $300 million facility that has yet to open.

The 4,000-bed facility was completed last August but has remained vacant because the county can't afford to operate it. The supervisors are continuing to seek ways to open the jail, including possibly generating the needed revenue by leasing out other, older jails that have been closed in recent years.

But budget officials warned the board Thursday that the county may be as much as $170 million short in its $12 billion budget, and probable federal welfare changes could cost an additional $336 million.

``We have to fish or cut bait at some point,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``It seems to me the worst of the options is to let it sit there.''

The board majority agreed to look for ways to make money off the facility through a lease to private jail operators, the state or federal government. A report is due back Aug. 19.

The board will officially ask for the best possible deals from several private jail companies when it issues a request for proposals next week, said Undersheriff Jerry Harper.

The county also must resolve whether delays opening Twin Towers will lead officials in Sacramento to seek a refund of state money contributed toward building the jail.

``The state did put up a lot of money,'' Harper said. ``That's why we're working with county counsel to see what the liabilities are.''

The county is spending $12 million a year to pay off the bonds for Twin Towers, and Yaroslavsky said the county should look for a way to cover those costs, even if it can't afford to open the jail.

The county already has begun negotiating with five companies interested in leasing either Mira Loma jail in Lancaster or Biscailuz Center in East Los Angeles, older jails closed in the past four years because of budget problems.

The private companies would in turn contract with the federal or state governments to house illegal aliens, halfway house inmates and other low-security prisoners.

Both the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the state also have been negotiating directly with the Sheriff's Department on the possibility of renting county facilities for some of their prisoners.

Twin Towers, though a state-of-the-art, high-security jail, probably wouldn't make a good state prison because it was built to accommodate the needs of a local facility, Harper said.

He said there has been ``no serious discussions'' about leasing out Twin Towers and such talk may be premature.

``Personally, I don't think we're there yet,'' Harper said. ``The board has some real money problems, though. It's a tough position to be in, no question about that.''