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McAlester adopts $50 incarceration cost fee for municipal convictions to recoup county jail charges
Summary
Council adopted an ordinance to add a $50 incarceration cost fee to costs upon judgments of conviction, intended to recoup county jail costs the city has paid over recent years; council declared an emergency to make the change effective immediately.
The McAlester City Council voted to amend municipal court code to add an incarceration cost fee to costs upon judgments of conviction, matching a recent contract with Pittsburgh County for jail services.
Staff said the city has paid roughly $27,632 to the county over the past five years for incarceration costs and presented the ordinance as a mechanism to recover part of those expenditures. A staff member explained the $50 fee “matches that contract exactly” with Pittsburgh County. Councilors had no extended debate and voted to adopt the ordinance and declare an emergency, making the change effective immediately.
Councilors and staff characterized the amendment as a means to offset recurring costs the city pays to house arrestees in the county facility. The ordinance adds a new line in the municipal code to allow the court to assess an incarceration cost fee when a conviction results in county jail costs.
What’s next: The ordinance was adopted with an emergency clause; staff will publish the ordinance text and coordinate with the municipal court on implementation.
