What we are asking each body to do.
Five bodies decide what this jail is. One governs it and four pay for it. Each section below is what we are asking that body specifically to do, stated so it can be moved and seconded, with the figure that justifies it and the document that figure came from.
We endorse no one and we ask for no money. What we ask for is a motion. If your body has already done one of these, tell us and we will say so on this page — here.
The four governing bodies get the same five asks, because they hold the same power in the same way; what differs is the figure beside each section. They are repeated in full under each body rather than stated once and cross-referenced, so that any one section can be printed and handed over on its own.
Figures in the writing are rounded to two digits and marked ≈. The tables, the arithmetic we show our working for, and every source line are exact, and so is every CSV. Why.
Rappahannock Regional Jail Authority Board
Governs the jail and approves its budget. Twelve members, three appointed by each of the four localities. Next sitting: Thursday, October 22, 2026, 1:00 pm — Jail Roll Call Room, Rappahannock Regional Jail, 1745 Richmond Highway, Stafford
What this body approved
- FY2027 budget
- $58,000,000, approved January 22, 2026 — $4,700,000 above FY2026, an increase of 8.9 percent, passed with one public comment
- FY2026 appropriation
- $53,000,000
- Revenue taken from families, FY2026
- $2,300,000 across six lines — 4.4 percent of General Fund revenue
- Grievances closed without investigation, FY2026
- 1,200 of 1,900 — 63 percent
RRJA July 23, 2026 agenda packet, retrieved August 22, 2026. Marked unaudited by the Authority and published as unaudited here.
The asks
Seat voting members with lived experience of incarceration at this facility, and family members who have paid its fees, so the governed have a vote in the governance.
Publish a monthly public dashboard — population, deaths, use of force, grievances filed and their outcomes, medical grievances, emergency transports, staffing vacancies — before each board meeting, so oversight operates on evidence rather than assurance.
Commission genuinely independent annual review by an evaluator selected by and reporting to someone other than the superintendent, and publish it unredacted.
Eliminate every revenue stream extracted from incarcerated people and their families — commissary commission, telephone proceeds, housing fees, medical co-pays — and replace them with locality appropriation, severing the institution's financial interest in occupancy.
Adopt a formal decarceration mandate with a dated population target and direct the superintendent to report against it at every meeting, making reduction the measure of success rather than efficient operation of a full building.
Stafford County Board of Supervisors
Next sitting: Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 5:00 pm — Board Chambers, 1300 Courthouse Road, Stafford
What this body is paying for
- FY2026 contribution to RRJ
- $10,043,857 — the largest of the four
- Average daily membership
- 475 (FY2024), 39.8% of the jail
- Board appointments
- Appoints members to the Rappahannock Regional Jail Authority Board
- Budget presentation
- The jail appears in county budget documents alongside the Rappahannock Juvenile Center
- FY2026 local prisoner days
- 180,000 — 43.69 percent of the jail, an average daily population of 480
- FY2027 operational impact invoiced
- $1,400,000
Prisoner-day figures: RRJA July 23, 2026 agenda packet, retrieved August 22, 2026, unaudited. Contribution and membership figures as cited on The System.
The asks
Condition the annual jail appropriation on published performance reporting — deaths, use of force, grievance outcomes, medical grievances, and average length of stay — delivered before the vote, not after it.
Adopt a decarceration budget target with a dated glidepath, and appropriate the savings from each reduced bed directly into crisis response, housing, and treatment rather than returning it to general fund.
Replace membership-driven contribution with a formula that does not reward higher population, removing the arithmetic incentive to fill beds.
Require RRJA Board appointees to hold public constituent meetings and publish written annual accountability reports to the appointing body.
Seat people with lived experience of incarceration, and family members who have paid the jail's fees, as voting members of any body advising on the jail appropriation.
Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors
Next sitting: Tuesday, September 8, 2026, 5:00 pm — Holbert Building, 9104 Courthouse Road, Spotsylvania
What this body is paying for
- FY2026 contribution to RRJ
- $8,096,586
- Average daily membership
- 383 (FY2024), 32.1% of the jail
- Budget process
- Jail contribution reviewed in annual budget work sessions
- FY2026 local prisoner days
- 140,000 — 34.27 percent of the jail, an average daily population of 380
- FY2027 operational impact invoiced
- $570,000
Prisoner-day figures: RRJA July 23, 2026 agenda packet, retrieved August 22, 2026, unaudited. Contribution and membership figures as cited on The System.
The asks
Condition the annual jail appropriation on published performance reporting — deaths, use of force, grievance outcomes, medical grievances, and average length of stay — delivered before the vote, not after it.
Adopt a decarceration budget target with a dated glidepath, and appropriate the savings from each reduced bed directly into crisis response, housing, and treatment rather than returning it to general fund.
Replace membership-driven contribution with a formula that does not reward higher population, removing the arithmetic incentive to fill beds.
Require RRJA Board appointees to hold public constituent meetings and publish written annual accountability reports to the appointing body.
Seat people with lived experience of incarceration, and family members who have paid the jail's fees, as voting members of any body advising on the jail appropriation.
Fredericksburg City Council
Next sitting: Tuesday, September 8, 2026, 7:30 pm — Council Chambers, City Hall, 715 Princess Anne Street, Fredericksburg (lower level, entrance off Hanover Street)
What this body is paying for
- FY2026 contribution to RRJ
- $3,875,838
- Average daily membership
- 183 (FY2024), 15.3% of the jail
- Per-capita burden
- The highest jail cost per resident of the four, from the poorest jurisdiction
- Council scrutiny
- City Council budget work sessions have asked follow-up questions about the jail's share of inmates
- Poverty
- 12.2% overall poverty, 16.9% child poverty
- FY2026 local prisoner days
- 70,000 — 17.38 percent of the jail, an average daily population of 190
- FY2027 operational impact invoiced
- $1,000,000
Prisoner-day figures: RRJA July 23, 2026 agenda packet, retrieved August 22, 2026, unaudited. Contribution and membership figures as cited on The System.
The asks
Condition the annual jail appropriation on published performance reporting — deaths, use of force, grievance outcomes, medical grievances, and average length of stay — delivered before the vote, not after it.
Adopt a decarceration budget target with a dated glidepath, and appropriate the savings from each reduced bed directly into crisis response, housing, and treatment rather than returning it to general fund.
Replace membership-driven contribution with a formula that does not reward higher population, removing the arithmetic incentive to fill beds.
Require RRJA Board appointees to hold public constituent meetings and publish written annual accountability reports to the appointing body.
Seat people with lived experience of incarceration, and family members who have paid the jail's fees, as voting members of any body advising on the jail appropriation.
King George County Board of Supervisors
Next sitting: Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 5:30 pm — Board room, Revercomb Administration Building, 10459 Courthouse Drive, King George
What this body is paying for
- FY2026 contribution to RRJ
- $1,310,850
- Average daily membership
- 62 (FY2024), 5.2% of the jail
- Budget cycle
- Jail contribution reviewed in the county's annual operating budget
- FY2026 local prisoner days
- 19,000 — 4.67 percent of the jail, an average daily population of 52
- FY2027 operational impact invoiced
- $130,000
Prisoner-day figures: RRJA July 23, 2026 agenda packet, retrieved August 22, 2026, unaudited. Contribution and membership figures as cited on The System.
The asks
Condition the annual jail appropriation on published performance reporting — deaths, use of force, grievance outcomes, medical grievances, and average length of stay — delivered before the vote, not after it.
Adopt a decarceration budget target with a dated glidepath, and appropriate the savings from each reduced bed directly into crisis response, housing, and treatment rather than returning it to general fund.
Replace membership-driven contribution with a formula that does not reward higher population, removing the arithmetic incentive to fill beds.
Require RRJA Board appointees to hold public constituent meetings and publish written annual accountability reports to the appointing body.
Seat people with lived experience of incarceration, and family members who have paid the jail's fees, as voting members of any body advising on the jail appropriation.
Where to say it
| The room | Next dates | Where | How to be heard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rappahannock Regional Jail Authority BoardGoverns the jail. Approves its budget. |
|
Jail Roll Call Room, Rappahannock Regional Jail, 1745 Richmond Highway, StaffordEnter through the Main Lobby and check in with security staff. | Three minutes each, name and address required, one turn per person, thirty minutes for the whole comment period, and it must concern jail services or policy. Contact the board secretary before the meeting starts. |
| Stafford County Board of SupervisorsAppropriates Stafford's share of the jail's budget. |
|
Board Chambers, 1300 Courthouse Road, Stafford | Three minutes each, whether you speak for yourself or a group. Speaker cards are taken in the order the clerk receives them. Written comment can be filed online instead. |
| Spotsylvania County Board of SupervisorsAppropriates Spotsylvania's share of the jail's budget. |
|
Holbert Building, 9104 Courthouse Road, Spotsylvania | Three minutes each, five if you speak for an organisation. The microphone is switched off at time. You may not yield your time and you may not speak twice. |
| Fredericksburg City CouncilAppropriates Fredericksburg's share of the jail's budget. |
|
Council Chambers, City Hall, 715 Princess Anne Street, Fredericksburg (lower level, entrance off Hanover Street) | Five minutes each. Email the Clerk of Council to sign up. Give your name, address and zip code. A letter sent by 1:30 pm on the day is read aloud instead, for three minutes. |
| King George County Board of SupervisorsAppropriates King George's share of the jail's budget. |
|
Board room, Revercomb Administration Building, 10459 Courthouse Drive, King George | Check the agenda for the public-comment item. The county asks for a day's notice if you need an interpreter or hearing assistance. |
Read from each body’s own published calendar on September 8, 2026, looking ahead to March 27, 2027. Public bodies move meetings. Check the linked calendar before you drive; if a date has changed and this page has not, tell us.