VAN BUREN, Ark. (AP) _ A county court in northwestern Arkansas has approved
imposing a higher fee on cities for housing their inmates even though county
officials cannot justify the increase.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the Crawford County Quorum Court voted Monday to charge municipalities $40 a day per inmate, which is up from the 20-year-old fee of $10 a meal for its inmates in the county jail.
Court members, Van Buren Mayor Bob Freeman and the county sheriff all agree the county cannot justify whether the new fee fairly charges cities for the county’s cost of housing their inmates.
Court members say the idea is to institute a flat fee to gauge how much revenue
it generates and how it affects municipalities. Then, the county can adjust the
fee to charge cities fairly.
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