I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but of late I’ve had this nagging urge to tell the lot of those involved in this jail consolidation debate to “grow up!”

Let’s recap the professional discussions that have taken place over the past couple of weeks.

At 20 minutes to 5 on a Friday afternoon earlier this month, some very angry county commissioners from Somerset County showed up at Gov. John Baldacci’s office demanding an audience. Seems the governor was at a funeral and the commissioners were sent home unfulfilled but with a promise of a meeting with the big guy the next Monday.

According to the governor’s press secretary, the commissioners were not saying very nice things about the governor while they waited.

On Monday, the governor met with the commissioners, who were really mad that he plans to take over the running of Maine’s county jails, including the one under construction in their county which is expected to cost Somerset County taxpayers more than $30 million. The state condemned the county’s old jail, forcing it either to build a new one or pay hefty fees to other jails to board its inmates.

Somerset County was banking on using revenues from boarding out-of-county and federal prisoners to offset the mortgage and operational costs of the new jail. But $5.5 million into construction, Baldacci announced his plan for a state takeover of the county jails without any indication that the state planned to pick up any existing debt the counties had incurred. In essence, the state steps in and takes ownership of a brand-new jail paid for by Somerset County taxpayers.

At Monday morning’s meeting, rather than offer an explanation as to how the state may be able to help ensure that residents of Somerset County might not be left with such an enormous tax burden, the governor told the lot of them that he doesn’t need their stinkin’ jail.

It reminded me a bit of the governor’s response last spring when Maine’s largest construction project, at the future home of Hollywood Slots on Main Street in Bangor, was halted because the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee thought it was a good idea to increase the taxes of the company building it because that company was showing nice profits.

As a result, the entire operation was shut down and there was much public outrage.

Baldacci’s response to the media was that the whole squabble wasn’t his concern; it was a legislative matter. It didn’t take long before he changed his mind and decided he might want to step in to try to negotiate a better ending. He did: The proposed tax hike on Penn National was nixed and soon the bulldozers were rumbling again.

Now it seems he has decided that his attitude at the Sept. 10 meeting with the Somerset County commissioners may have been a bit harsh.

It appears he forgot to mention at the meeting that he was more than happy to discuss funding options for the new jail in Somerset County as well as debt service issues in other counties.

“That was true all along,” Baldacci spokesman David Farmer said this week. “Apparently we didn’t do a very good job communicating that.”

Apparently not.

The corrections system in the state is in constant crisis, whether at the state or county level. Baldacci is not wrong to propose massive changes in an attempt to make the entire system more streamlined, affordable and effective. His administration is throwing big numbers around, suggesting taxpayers are going to save millions of dollars with his plan, but there is little data to indicate exactly where those savings are coming from.

The state historically has not done such a great job at running its own prison system, so there is plenty of room for skepticism. It’s no surprise that county officials oppose Baldacci’s plan. The jails are the largest portion of county government, and the end of county jails eventually may signify the end of county government altogether.

Without the jails, what is left for the counties to run?

The running of our corrections system is not a game. It’s serious business that affects our tax bills and our public safety. Its future should not be reduced to chest thumping and finger pointing but rather should be a matter of thoughtful and well-researched discussion.

Renee Ordway can be reached at rordway@bangordailynews.net.