Kentucky county officials recently met with state legislators to discuss the need for financial help operating jails. Local officials said Rowan’s jail is operating at a deficit due to an increase in operation costs and a lack of state funding. Rowan County Judge Executive Harry Clark said the cost of operating the jail is over $6 million a year. Almost half of that figure comes directly from the county’s general fund.
Clark said part of the problem is that the state doesn’t start paying for inmates until they are convicted and sentenced, which can take a long time.
“I got one guy sitting there for three years and three months and he’s never been to trial, so that’s all on our dollar. If I picked the top ten out of county jail right now, and if the state would take those folks and would be paying us the $35.34 a day, we would receive $238,898,” said Clark.
Clark said one inmate costs the county around $50 a day to feed and house. He said if the state paid more, the county would have additional funds for other services that also come out of the general fund, and the problem is only going to get worse in the future.
“So, you have to think about feeding 330 people. So, let’s take the food costs. The food cost is nearly $800,000 a year to feed those inmates. And that’s just going to continue to go up, it’s not coming down,” Clark said.
He adds that increasing the rate the state pays will help with the deficit but won’t fix the core issue. He said officials are asking the state to change policy so that rates keep pace with costs. Any additional funding that may be passed won’t be distributed until after the next state legislative session.