County officials reviewed another proposal that will be submitted to the city regarding the interlocal agreement on dispatching and housing of inmates.
Justice of the Peace Stan Townsend reported to the quorum court last Thursday on a law enforcement committee meeting that took place July 6. The committee reviewed some additional data that had been presented to the city following a June 16 joint meeting at which city officials questioned the allocation of money paid to the county for dispatching.
Sen. Missy Irvin attended the July 6 committee meeting and suggested that the city and county employ an outside economist to review receipts and disbursements and make recommendations on the most economical and efficient ways to allocate the resources available.
Townsend presented the revised proposal, and JPs approved a motion by Jim Nesbitt to send the proposal to the city. Townsend said it would include a request for a prompt decision.
“This needs to be decided within the next two or three weeks. We need to know,” Townsend said.
He also noted that the interlocal agreement will be reviewed on a yearly basis in future.
The current agreement requires the city to pay the county $50,000 a year for dispatching and $10,000 for city inmates housed in the county jail.
The proposed revisions are as follows:
• The dispatch fee would be raised to cover increases in minimum wage that have affected the costs of jailer/dispatchers. The actual amount would be established in the 2021 budget but is projected to be around $61,500.
• On inmate housing, an inmate rate per day will be determined in the fall, and the city will be charged accordingly, with quarterly billing through 2021. In early 2022, the actual amount owed for 2021 will be calculated, and the county will reimburse the city for any overage or collect more, as needed, to ensure the city pays the actual computed cost for its prisoners. This could be more or less than the $10,000 currently being charged.
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