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FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 30, 2024) — Counties are struggling to fund jails, according to county jailers, judge-executives, and other stakeholders.
A presentation on the financial burden county jails have on local governments was given to the Interim Joint Committee on Local Government on Monday. Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) Executive Director Jim Henderson said the fiscal impact jails have on counties is challenging and complex.
In Kentucky, about 43 out of 120 counties do not have a jail, he added, and funding for jails comes from several different sources. For jails that house federal inmates, they receive some federal reimbursement. But Kentucky counties spend about $350 million per year to operate jails, Henderson said.
Rowan County Judge-Executive Harry Clark joined Henderson to talk about the jail funding issue. In 2018, Rowan County opened a new 279-bed facility where a third of the inmates come from other counties.
Six out of the seven counties surrounding Rowan County do not have a jail, so they fit a need for the region. However, the cost of operating the jail is still an issue, Clark said.
“We’re struggling now,” Clark said. “The counties are definitely struggling to keep up these jails, so we need to come up with a long-term solution, whatever that may be.”
Clark said cleaning and food costs have increased over the last few years making the fiscal issue worse. He suggested that contracting for some services might reduce costs.
“It’s bleeding us dry,” Clark said. “There’s so many other things we could do with the money that we’re spending on this.”
Menifee County Judge-Executive Rick Stiltner also spoke before the committee. He said his county’s jail closed more than 30 years ago, and he doesn’t want to open a new one.
Counties without jails in Kentucky are forced to contract with other county jails to house their inmates. Stiltner said this decision saves Menifee County money, but the county is still spending about one-fifth of its budget on prisoner costs.
Stiltner said he isn’t sure how to fix the issue, but he likes Clark’s idea to contract out services, like food.
Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoe, R-Lexington, said bringing certain services in-house has helped Fayette County’s jail. It has its own medical facility, which has cut down on transportation costs and has made health care more immediate for inmates, she said.
“It does not by any means touch long-term the cost of medical, which is huge, but it is something,” she said. “I think it’s a good idea to look at maybe regionally is there some cost savings where we can have people come in to the facilities and provide that care”
Hardin County Attorney Jenny Oldham also spoke before the committee. She said sometimes the medical needs of an inmate are so expensive that the inmate must be released, but she and the jailer do everything they can to prevent that from happening.
Rep. Sarah Stalker, D-Louisville, asked if anyone is keeping track of how many inmates have to be released due to expensive medical needs. Oldham said they are not keeping any official data, but it is something they can start doing.
The length of time an inmate spends waiting for trial was also discussed. Sen. Greg Elkins, R-Winchester, said he’s aware some inmates can spend up to three or five years waiting for trial or a resolution.
“I think we’re going to have to find a way to get those inmates sentenced quicker and through the system quicker,” he said. “One-thousand-plus days on the county dime is unreasonable.”
Oldham said there are systems in place to help the courts cut down on jail time, but bail schedules are an issue. She said the Administrative Office of the Courts sets those.
“Those are not local,” Oldham said. “I don’t think that is conducive to having the right kind of control to reduce those costs.”
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