A plan from county officials to remake jails gives the governor and lawmakers an opportunity to rescue a necessary but clumsy corrections system reorganization effort. A major shortcoming of Gov. John Baldacci’s plan to have the state take over county jails was that it was sprung on local officials, who immediately opposed it. With more than one plan to consider, legislators can now have a broader discussion of corrections reform, hear from a diverse group of people and create a jail consolidation plan that will both save money and improve the treatment and rehabilitation of prisoners.

Gov. Baldacci first announced his plans to combine state and county jails in August. He proposed to close county jails in Piscataquis, Waldo, Oxford and Franklin counties and to consolidate administration to save tax dollars. The opposition from county officials should have been foreseen.

A revised plan released earlier this month stuck to the state takeover, but kept open the four jails slated for closure; they would be downsized to 72-hour holding facilities. In addition, the Kennebec County Jail would be converted into a pretrial detention center and the Two Bridges regional jail in Wiscasset would become a specialty unit for inmates who need mental health treatment. The governor projects the changes would save $7 million in the first year, growing to $38 million by 2015.

This plan, too, was rejected by county officials, who raised valid questions about transportation costs, debt service and other issues.

They responded with a plan of their own, which was focused on a new system of assigning prisoners to county jails to better use these facilities and hence reduce costs. Because some jails are overcrowded while others have plenty of spare space, such coordination would be helpful, but it remains unclear how such a system would reduce costs.

The Legislature is scheduled to begin consideration of corrections consolidation proposals on Monday. It is likely to hear many reasons why any substantial changes aren’t feasible. At a time of growing state budget shortfalls, such thinking is unacceptable. Instead, lawmakers must focus on finding new ways to run county and state correctional facilities that better serve prisoners and reduce costs.

Maine’s incarceration rate is 50th among the states, yet its spending on corrections ranks 45th. Over the last three years, county jail budgets have cumulatively risen more than 12 percent annually, according to state figures. State prison costs have risen half as much.

At the same time, Maine’s pretrial incarceration population, as a percentage of those in jails, is among the highest in the country. These people stay in jail two or three times longer than the national average.

Worse, many inmates are in jail because of mental illnesses that often go untreated during their incarceration. Nationally, correctional facilities house eight times as many mentally ill people as do state psychiatric facilities. Creating a specialty facility where mental heath treatment would be available would be a good step toward addressing this problem.

Many more questions need to be answered, but by taking the best ideas from the governor’s plan and the county plan – and adding new ones uncovered during the legislative process – lawmakers have an opportunity to create a higher quality jail system while saving money.