BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PAINTSVILLE — A request for Martin County and three neighboring counties to help pay a $227,374 liability and workers’ compensation insurance premium for the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center opened a wider discussion about the jail’s finances, operating costs and what could happen if a county refused to contribute.
During a May 21 special meeting of the regional jail authority, Administrator Byron Hansford said the detention center’s financial difficulties stem largely from a mismatch between the costs of housing inmates and what counties and the state pay.
According to Hansford, the jail spends about $45 per day to house an inmate. Member counties pay a daily rate of $36.34, while the state pays $35.34 for state inmates.
“The easy fix for this used to be state inmates,” Hansford said, noting the detention center once housed an average of about 100 state inmates before the Kentucky Jailers Association sued the Kentucky Department of Corrections in January 2023.
“That number started dropping after that lawsuit,” Hansford said. “I asked an individual with the state — I’m not going to say who — but I asked an individual if the reason we were losing state inmates was because of that lawsuit, and I was told indirectly, ‘Yes.’”
Hansford said declining inmate populations have had an unintended consequence.
“When the number of inmates goes down, the price per day goes up,” he said. “It’s one of two things. It’s more inmates or more money.”
The detention center has also faced major expenses in recent years. Hansford said a new roof cost approximately $170,000.
“We’re getting ready to update our fire suppression system because we have to,” he said. “That’s about $20,000. There are expenses that happen.”
Board member Steve Rose said operating costs were not the only factor behind the jail’s financial situation.
“The authority authorized raises at a time when we did not have money to give the raises,” Rose said. “When you add all that stuff together, we’re here at this point.”
Martin County board member Billy Patrick said employee turnover and overtime have further strained the budget.
“Employee turnover and overtime have killed us,” Patrick said, noting overtime hours typically range between 400 and 600 per month.
Rose reminded board members that they had agreed during the previous month’s meeting to speak with their county judge/executives about helping cover the insurance premium.
According to board members, Johnson, Lawrence and Magoffin counties agreed to contribute their shares. Patrick said Martin County Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty planned to meet with the other judge/executives to discuss how the counties intended to fund the request.
“We’re going to write a check for it,” Rose said.
The discussion grew tense when Lawrence County board member Roger Lee Jordan suggested there could be consequences if Martin County declined to participate.
“This board is made up of the four counties because we all participate,” Jordan said. “If they don’t make this check, Martin County may not be able to participate on this board anymore. That means you’re going to have to find someplace else or some other way to pay for your inmates.”
Rose immediately challenged the statement.
“That’s not legal,” he said.
Patrick agreed.
“I don’t think by law that they can pull out,” Patrick said.
Attorney Nelson Sparks said the authority could not simply remove Martin County from the regional jail arrangement.
Under Kentucky’s regional jail statutes, a regional jail authority is a separate public entity created jointly by participating counties through ordinances and contractual agreements. Because the authority is a joint creation of all member counties, neither a single county nor the authority itself can unilaterally change that relationship.
Sparks noted that the Kentucky Supreme Court addressed the issue in Regional Jail Authority v. Tackett in 1989, ruling that attempts to alter the membership structure of the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center without the consent required under the governing agreement were invalid.
While Martin County cannot be removed from the authority, Sparks said the authority could pursue legal action to collect outstanding amounts.
“We’re going to have to cover the insurance every year,” Jordan said. “At the beginning of the year, it was $349,942. So that means each county would pay $88,000 every year. Counties are just going to have to put that into their budget.”
Martin County board member Bradford Preece made a motion for the jail authority to pursue a loan for the insurance payment. The motion failed for lack of a second.
The authority instead voted to invite Lafferty to a special meeting May 29 to discuss the issue further.
Jordan suggested the counties could potentially use opioid settlement funds to help cover detention center expenses.
Treasurer Pamela Burgess said the Kentucky Association of Counties must receive the insurance payment by June 20. She added that the policy renewal for the upcoming year is due Aug. 31.
Pointing toward Patrick, Rose warned that failing to address the detention center’s financial problems would leave the authority with few options.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Rose said. “They’re going to pay it, or this board is going to have no choice but to raise it to $50 a day.”
The issue was resolved one week later.
During the authority’s regular meeting May 28, Patrick announced that Martin County had agreed to contribute $56,843 of the insurance premium.