What Commissary Money Pays For at Upshur County Jail (Where Your Dollars Go)
If you've put money on commissary or paid for calls and video time, you probably want to know where that money actually goes. Here's how Upshur County Jail handles those proceeds and what Texas law allows the funds to be used for.
At Upshur County Jail, the proceeds from commissary commissions, e-cigarette sales, phone minutes, and visitation minutes don't just get lumped into a general account. The net proceeds go into a separate bank account called the "Inmate Welfare Fund."
Legal Uses
- ✓ Fund, staff, and equip programs that address inmate needs
- ✓ Supply inmates with clothing, writing materials, and hygiene supplies
- ✓ Establish, staff, and equip commissary operations (including salaries for staff who manage commissary accounts)
- ✓ Fund, staff, and equip an educational library and a law library
- ✓ Fund physical plant improvements, technology, equipment, programs, services, and activities that support inmate well-being, safety, and facility security
The rules come from Texas Local Government Code 351.0415, which spells out exactly what county jail commissary proceeds can fund. In plain terms: if money qualifies as commissary-related proceeds and lands in the Inmate Welfare Fund, it's supposed to be spent within specific categories, not on unrelated county expenses.
Commissary items at Upshur County Jail are sold through Keefe Commissary Network. The Upshur County Sheriff's Office receives a commission equal to 38.5% of gross commissary sales, minus specific non-commissioned items. Those non-commissioned items include stamps, indigent kits, and admission kits, so sales of those products are handled differently under the agreement.
Note: The 38.5% commission rate applies before the jail's net proceeds are deposited into the "Inmate Welfare Fund" account. Only the proceeds that remain after the commission structure flow into that fund.
Beyond the usual commissary snacks and personal items, the audit shows a per-item profit on e-cigarette sales. Upshur County's commissary earns $9.70 in profit on each e-cigarette sold.
The audit also breaks down profits tied to communication purchases. The commissary records a 25% profit on phone minutes and a 25% profit on video visitation minutes. Separately, the county's contract with NCIC for the inmate phone system and video visitation/messaging includes revenue-sharing terms. Under that contract, Upshur County receives a $73,000 minimum annual guarantee upon activation and at the end of each contract year. If gross revenue exceeds that minimum, Upshur County gets 60% of the gross revenue above the $73,000 threshold.
Reminder: Proceeds from phone minutes, video visitation minutes, and related sales all go into the separate bank account titled "Inmate Welfare Fund."
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