Oldham County fiscal court approves 2026 detention-center budget projecting operating surplus

The Oldham County Fiscal Court on April 1 approved the detention-center budget for fiscal 2026, a presentation that outlined revenue from federal, state and neighboring-county inmates and the county’s ongoing bond payments for the facility.

The budget presented by Jailer Jeff Tindall projects about $8.1 million in revenue and roughly $7.9 million in operating expenses, producing a net transfer of about $179,000 to the general fund, the court was told. Tindall said revenue includes payments for federal inmates and contracts with other jurisdictions.

Judge Executive David Vogel and other magistrates questioned how the jail’s operating numbers relate to the separate bond payments for the detention center. Finance staff and county administrator explained that bond debt service is reported and paid from the general fund per state reporting rules and was not built into the jail operating budget shown to the court.

County finance staff said the jail receives significant revenue from housing federal inmates and that federal per-diem rates were renegotiated recently; the county increased its federal inmate rate from $57 to $73 per inmate per day during the latest contract negotiation.

Magistrates discussed the long-term debt schedule for the detention-center bonds. County staff said the overall debt service has been set at about $1.1 million per year and that there are approximately 13 years remaining on the bonds. The court was told the higher-rate portion of the bonds was scheduled to be retired sooner while a lower-interest, tax-exempt portion remains.

After discussion the court voted to accept the jail budget as presented. Vogel said the transfer from the jail budget will be applied to the detention-center long-term debt.

The court’s action followed a review in the finance committee earlier that morning; magistrates who were at the committee meeting said the item had been vetted.