County panel discusses Blytheville's jail fee bill

Solving the issue of Blytheville's mounting jail fee debt to Mississippi County was the foremost topic of discussion during Wednesday's meeting of the Quorum Court's Police, Fire and Safety Committee.

First of note was the discrepancy in the amount owed, which Blytheville Police Chief Ross Thompson reportedly estimated as $371,000 for 2011. According to the county's figures, the city owes over $490,000, part of which was accumulated in 2010. Justice Michael White pointed out that Thompson may not have seen bills for the end of 2011, but Justice Barry Ball pointed out that a different figure for the amount owed as calculated by the city and county has long been an issue.

"We started out 2011 with a sort of gentleman's agreement with the city administration," said White, "that we would receive payment of $10,000 per month to help cover their current fees, and check swaps to pay on their arrears. But we only got the check swaps, so they really only paid on what they owed from 2010."

White told the committee that the amount owed to the county for jail and landfill fees combined is well over $600,000 -- an expense that the county cannot afford.

"We are facing a very tight February," he said, "and we will be cashing out a CD this week just to be able to make payroll next week. If we were flush with Blytheville on at least one of these accounts, it would be a big help. How long can every other city in the county continue to subsidize Blytheville in this area? We didn't even get the full amount that they budgeted to pay us for 2011, which was $250,000."

The possibility of taking the city to court over the matter was mentioned, with the opinion of justices present divided -- some feeling it was a necessary step and some feeling that it would look bad for the county to sue the city when they did not have the money due to the ongoing IRS investigation.

"If they know we can't do anything about it, then why would they do anything to fix this issue? If an individual owed the money, they would be sued for payment," said Justice Judith Chiles.

Officials present agreed that Blytheville does not currently have the money needed to pay off the debt, but that the pending election on the sales tax to settle the city with the IRS would be a good first step to solving the city's financial problems.

"This issue is a hot topic around the city," said White, "and honestly, from what I've heard people say, it will be a shock to me if it passes. But it's imperative for us that it does -- otherwise it's going to be very difficult for us to get any money out of the city -- and it's not fair for the rest of the county to bear a bigger financial burden."

Multiple other ways to get the money were discussed, from taking some fine money that is received through the city court, to suing for county control of the municipal court itself, although it was expressed that the municipal court is a money maker for the city, and Blytheville was not likely to turn that source of income over to the county.

"We have in the past looked at jail facilities in other counties, to see if they would take our prisoners if we shut down our jail services," said White, "but the cost per prisoner is between $60 and $80 per day, which is much more expensive, and that would end up costing all of the other cities more than they've been paying."

The end result of the discussion was that committee chair Justice Ken Kennemore would consult with county attorney Dan Ritchey to see what sort of legal action in the matter is available for the county to take.

A message left for Blytheville Mayor James Sanders this morning was not immediately returned. Sanders is in Little Rock today, according to his office.

Meanwhile, County Sheriff Dale Cook informed the committee that his department was awarded $9,000 from a grant, which would pay for new vests for his officers. The vests, however, have to be purchased and then the funds reimbursed. In that matter, and the matter of a new engine which needs to be purchased for a patrol unit, Cook said that his department would wait to make expenditures until the county finances were more settled.

Also mentioned were plans to bring a resolution to the full court at its next meeting which would honor the life and work of the late Freddy Childers of the Mississippi County First Responders, who died of heart problems after responding to an emergency call in Manila.

sharris@couriernews.net