What Commissary Money Pays For at Upshur County Jail

Upshur County contracts with Keefe Commissary Network to supply commissary items under a five-year agreement. This setup determines how the commissary is stocked and how sales revenue flows back to the county.

Under the agreement, Keefe pays the Upshur County Sheriff's Office a 38.5% commission on gross commissary sales. Not everything earns a commission, though - stamps, indigent kits, and admission kits are excluded, so those items don't generate the same proceeds as typical purchases.

These commissary commissions don't just disappear into a general checking account. Upshur County deposits proceeds from commissary commissions - along with revenue from e-cigarettes, phone minutes, and video visitation minutes - into a separate bank account called the Upshur County Inmate Welfare Fund.

Texas law restricts what commissary proceeds can pay for. Under Texas Local Government Code 351.0415, county jail commissary proceeds may only be used for five purposes: funding programs that address inmate needs; supplying inmates with clothing, writing materials, and hygiene supplies; running commissary operations (including staff salaries); supporting educational and law libraries; and funding facility improvements, technology, and programs tied to inmate well-being, safety, and security.

Some items have a clearly stated per-item profit. According to county audit records, Upshur County's commissary earns $9.70 profit on each e-cigarette sold.

Phone and video time also generate profit. The audit shows the commissary records a 25% profit margin on both phone minutes and video visitation minutes.

The inmate phone, video, and messaging system is provided by NCIC under a five-year contract effective November 30, 2016. A May 28, 2021 addendum added mail scanning. The financial terms include a $73,000 minimum annual guarantee to Upshur County, plus 60% of gross revenue above that minimum from the phone/video system.

For families, here's the practical takeaway: commissary purchases - along with add-ons like phone/video minutes and e-cigarettes - generate proceeds beyond the cost of the item itself. Upshur County deposits those net proceeds into the separate Inmate Welfare Fund. That fund isn't a free-for-all. Texas law limits how commissary proceeds can be spent: inmate programs and basic supplies, commissary operations, educational and law library support, and certain facility improvements and safety/technology items tied to inmate well-being and security.