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Blue Earth County renews jail food and nursing contracts, approves sheriff's fee increases
Summary
The county approved a one‑year renewal for the jail food contract with Summit (negotiated to a 17% increase), a one‑year nursing contract with Advanced Correctional Healthcare at no increase, and adjustments to sheriff's fees including a new $25/hr on‑call charge for cities and off‑duty detail raised to $100/hr.
Blue Earth County commissioners approved three sheriff's office items on Nov. 4: a jail food service contract renewal with Summit, a nursing services contract with Advanced Correctional Healthcare (ACH), and a series of fee schedule adjustments.
Sheriff's staff reported Summit had proposed a 20% increase; negotiations reduced the proposal to a 17% increase, which the sheriff explained had been budgeted. The food service contract runs one year (Dec. 1 through Nov. 30) and the board approved moving forward with Summit.
On nursing services, the sheriff explained county staff solicited other vendors but either found considerably higher prices or vendors reluctant to operate in Minnesota because of statutory requirements. The board approved a one‑year renewal with Advanced Correctional Healthcare at a 0% increase; the county will pay nurses for holidays only when worked rather than prepaying for holidays.
The board also approved several fee changes presented by the sheriff's office. Notable items included a new $25 per hour on‑call charge to cities that have police departments when the county provides on‑call coverage, and an increase in off‑duty detail pay from $90 per hour to $100 per hour. The full updated fee schedule was included in the meeting packet and approved by the board.
Ending: Commissioners said they appreciated staff efforts to find competitive service options and noted the difficulty of contracting for corrections medical services. The contracts and fee schedule changes were approved by voice vote.
