Mixed signals from the Mississippi attorney general’s office has the county footing the lion’s share of the bill for housing Columbus inmates at Lowndes County Adult Detention Center.
Under an interlocal agreement, the city paid the county a daily rate of $45 per housed inmate that Columbus Police Department had arrested. But a pair of AG opinions issued this spring say that fee is higher than what state law allows cities to pay for inmate housing.
The county detention center houses all county and city inmates.
The city and county are working to hammer out a new agreement, board of supervisors president Trip Hairston said. Until then, the county is out an extra $16,000 or so per month – an amount the city would save over that time while receiving the same level of service.
Over the course of a year, Hairston estimated the county’s extra cost for housing city inmates could reach upward of $200,000.
What’s more, the Lynn Fitch-led AG’s office signed off on the very agreement it now says is illegal.
What happened?
Columbus paid a $25 daily rate per inmate before the city and county renegotiated the terms in September 2022. Under the new agreement, the city would pay fees on a graduating scale, starting with $30 the first year, $35 the second and $45 for the third year onward.
Fitch’s office approved that agreement.
Even those rates were too low, Hairston said, as the county estimates housing a single inmate actually costs about $65 per day.
But in March, an AG opinion to the Oxford city attorney said state law capped the amount a municipality could pay a county for those services at $25 daily per inmate for the first 30 days and $32.71 each day thereafter. A near identical AG opinion came in April to the Clinton city attorney.
Once Jeff Turnage, Columbus city attorney, learned of the Oxford opinion, he asked the AG to opine on the city’s agreement with Lowndes County.
A letter from the AG’s office followed, however, pointing out the opinions issued for Oxford and Clinton and indicating the Lowndes-Columbus agreement “may exceed the statutory limits on what municipalities may pay.”
The city returned to paying a $25 daily rate per inmate in August, Turnage said, while the county tries to draw up a new agreement that will fill the gap and still follow the statute.
While the county agreed that was the proper course of action, it stopped short of repaying the city for the three years worth of overcharges.
“I have mixed feelings about (the county not repaying the city),” Turnage said. “… I don’t see how approval of an agreement that exceeds the statute gives them the right to keep the money.”
Hairston criticized the AG’s office for “talking out of both sides of their mouth,” adding the board of supervisors plans to petition the legislature to change the law.
“It’s frustrating for me because we negotiated a contract with the city and the attorney general signed it. But now three years later, (the office of) that same attorney general says it’s illegal,” Hairston said. “Clearly, it’s inconsistent. … There are counties statewide that will be affected by this.”
More confusion
And the inmate housing fee issue isn’t the only inconsistency from the AG’s office, according to city and county sources. Another pair of opinions is causing a whiplash effect for when exactly a city inmate becomes a county one, which affects when the city stops paying the county to house an inmate.
Turnage said for decades, the understanding has been that suspects arrested by city police remain municipal inmates until they are bound over to the grand jury – something that usually happens after an initial court hearing if a felony charge is being considered. At that point, they were considered county inmates.
But in an April 2024 opinion written to the Lincoln County sheriff, the AG’s office wrote, “We are not aware of any statutory authority or case law stating that a city prisoner becomes a county prisoner upon being bound over to the county grand jury at a preliminary hearing.”
From that, Turnage and other city attorneys interpreted that city inmates remain such until after a grand jury hears their case. Once indicted, they become a county inmate. That process can take months, sometimes years.
But a more recent AG opinion issued Aug. 21 to the Ackerman city attorney clearly states it’s the county’s responsibility to pay expenses for a municipal inmate once the case is bound over to a grand jury – reasserting what had been understood before April 2024. The Ackerman opinion reasserts the law is “silent” on the matter, but it cites AG opinions from 1982, 1992 and 1994 for support – something the 2024 opinion did not.
The conflicting opinions have left cities and counties unclear on what entity is responsible for a particular inmate.
What now?
As for a new agreement with the city, Hairston said the county might seek a flat facilities fee that isn’t tied to inmate population to defray costs.
Even with that, both the city council and ultimately the AG’s office must sign off.
Turnage, speaking to The Dispatch, suggested the county first look at cutting its costs.
“(When I was in law school) I lived on popcorn, oatmeal, rice and Ramen noodles,” Turnage said. “I was a lightweight when I graduated. But I could still run an 18-minute 3-mile when I got out of law school and I was 32 years old. I’m just saying you don’t have to give them a three-course meal, you know – wine and cheese and all. They can probably cut some expenses depending on what they’re feeding (the inmates).
“I’m just wondering if (the county has) explored other options,” he added.
With a sizable portion of inmates classified as city prisoners at any given time, Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said the current situation is unsustainable. All parties agreeing to a new deal is better than Columbus having to house prisoners elsewhere or build its own jail, he noted.
“I’m hoping we can find an amicable solution,” Turnage said.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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