POPLARVILLE —
The board of aldermen on Tuesday unanimously approved a contract with the county for the city to pay for the incarceration of city prisoners in the Millard county prison.
The board, after a 30-minute session went into executive session and then came out and entered into an open session and took the vote, approving a contract for what the agenda called “prisoner housing.”
Exactly how much the city will pay per prisoner is still not clear, but will range probably anywhere from $20 to $30 per day per prisoner, according to city officials familiar with the agreement, which was hammered out between the city and county attorneys. The state pays the county $20 per day per prisoner held.
Said alderman Bill Winborn, concerning the agreement, after the meeting, “We have put this issue to rest, although we are not crazy about it.” The charges are estimated to run about a total of $7,000 a year, based on an average of city prisoners incarcerated in previous years.
Poplarville has not been paying for housing city prisoners in the county jail for years, but the county, strapped for funds, has been pushing Poplarville officials to pay for housing city prisoners.
Some city aldermen maintained that charging the city to hold city prisoners in the county jail was “double dipping”, since city residents already pay county taxes, but county officials replied that state law allows them to charge for services rendered to the city.
On another city-county issue — payment to the county by the City of Poplarville for local dispatching services by the county sheriff’s department for the city — the board took no action nor did the aldermen discuss the matter in open session, although acknowledgment of the receipt of a letter from the sheriff, dated Sept. 11, pertaining to the issue was on the agenda.
Sheriff David Allison notified the board of aldermen by letter that he would terminate dispatching services for the city on Oct. 1 unless the city picked up the salaries of two dispatchers, which would amount to about $85,000 per year.
Allison later agreed to slide the deadline to Nov. 1 when the city board told him the Oct. 1 date did not give them enough time to figure out what to do.
The county said Poplarville was not paying the county anything for local police and fire dispatching services operated by the county.
Again, city officials maintained city residents already pay county taxes for services, that it has been done this way for years and that the city didn’t have the funds to meet the request
City and county officials said negotiations will continue on the dispatching issue.
In another matter, aldermen voted unanimously to enter into agreement with Judicial Correction Services, Inc., after a presentation by the company’s marketing officer Kevin Egan. Egan said his company manages court cases, much like a state parole officer, and helps clients, or defendants, meet the obligations the court levys on them. However, he said the company is a private entity and not associated with the government.
He said in cities where they operate, management of cases by the company improves collections of fines and fees and increases revenues for cities. Egan will be working with cases generated from the Poplarville city court.
The service will not cost the city anything, said Egan. It is paid for by fees paid by clients.
He said his company was in Picayune and that city had experienced a better collection process. “Our goal is to help the client meet his obligations, which is good for the city and the client, who won’t get behind on his obligations to the court,” said Egan.
The company plans to establish an office in Poplarville. It will be its second office in Pearl River County. The other one is in Picayune.
Egan works out of Mobile.
In other matters, aldermen:
— Approved travel pay and expenses for Police Chief Charlie Fazende to attend the chiefs’ winter conference in Olive Branch Dec. 10-13.
— Approved the Sept. 18 and 25 minutes.
— Approved the Oct. 2 claims docket.
— Set closing hours for the city park from 12 midnight to 5 a.m. The rest of the time the park will be open.
— Set 9 a.m. as the curfew for when all trick-or-treating inside the city will be end on Halloween Night.
— Recessed to Oct. 16 at 5 p.m.
Local News
Poplarville OKs prisoner agreement with county, contracts with Judicial Correction Services
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