Court authorizes short-term incarceration agreement with Graves County; agreement sets 24-hour hold and cost responsibilities

The McCracken County Fiscal Court on July 28 authorized the judge executive to sign a one-year service agreement allowing Graves County to use McCracken County facilities to hold adult prisoners for up to 24 hours.

Why it matters: the agreement formalizes a practice the court said had been informally in place, clarifies liability and cost responsibilities, and provides a short-term accommodation for a neighboring county that lacks local jail capacity.

Under the agreement described during the meeting, Graves County will deliver prisoners to McCracken County; McCracken County will hold them up to 24 hours while Graves County arranges transport. If Christian County (a third county mentioned in the discussion) is the intended receiving jurisdiction, Christian County is expected to pick up the prisoner; if Christian does not, Graves County will be required to take them back and arrange alternate disposition. The county also stated Graves County will be responsible for costs incurred while the prisoners are held, including medical expenses.

During the discussion county staff said the arrangement had been handled informally for some time and that the agreement establishes written liability protections and cost responsibilities. A county speaker described the reimbursement as roughly $35 per inmate per day, which the speaker said aligned with rates used by comparable agencies.

The contract was described as a one-year, renewable agreement that can be ended or modified by 30 days' notice before the agreement term expires; the court approved authorization for the judge executive to sign the contract.

Taper: the court characterized the arrangement as an accommodation to a neighboring county and said it would monitor the agreement during the one-year term.