Council committee approves revised jail contract: city to pay $143 per‑day per prisoner starting 2026 amid central‑booking changes

Cleveland — The finance committee approved an amendment to the city’s contract with Cuyahoga County on Aug. 5 that raises the county per‑diem for housing city prisoners from $99 to $143 per prisoner per day starting Jan. 1, 2026, and formalizes central‑booking procedures and faster charging timelines.

The package of changes came after roughly 18 months of negotiation with Cuyahoga County, according to city law officials. City law and safety officials said the city closed its jails in 2018 and transferred responsibility to the county to reduce operating costs; the city now pays a per‑diem to the county rather than operating its own facility.

Mark Griffin, the city’s law director and primary city spokesperson at the committee, outlined the rationale. He said the city previously paid about $14.7 million annually to run its jail; after transferring detainees to the county the city’s net jail budget fell to about $3.9 million. He said the amended rate — $143 — reflects negotiations that also secure central‑booking processes and timelines to protect detainees’ due‑process rights and…