Anderson County approves interlocal agreement to house up to eight Freestone County inmates at $50 per day

The Anderson County Commissioners Court approved moving forward with an interlocal agreement to house Freestone County inmates at Anderson County’s jail at a rate of $50 per day.

Sheriff Flores briefed the court on the request, saying Freestone County’s small jail is currently over capacity and asked whether Anderson County could accommodate up to eight inmates. Flores said the county has room to help and that the proposed arrangement would provide relief to Freestone while leaving capacity for sudden local increases. The sheriff and Commissioners discussed classification, health-care costs and transport logistics.

The draft interlocal agreement presented to the court states that Freestone County will be responsible for transporting inmates and covering medical and transport expenses related to its inmates; the agreement includes indemnity language requiring Freestone to “identify and hold harmless” Anderson County for acts by the housed inmates. Sheriff Flores told the court that routine over‑the‑counter medical care would be provided by Anderson County but that major medical bills or outside diagnostics would be billed to Freestone County under the agreement.

Commissioners voted to authorize the sheriff to continue negotiating and to authorize the county judge to sign the interlocal agreement once Freestone County’s commissioners court approves and the district attorney has reviewed the contract. The court emphasized that an executed contract is required before Anderson County will accept custody of any Freestone inmates.

No revenue projection beyond the flat $50/day rate was included in the meeting materials. The court recorded that the district attorney reviewed the contract language and the agreement will be routed to Freestone County for execution.