Cole County renews juvenile detention contract with Boone County at $68 per day

The Cole County Commission voted to renew a contract with Boone County to house juvenile detainees for 2026 at a reported rate of $68 per day. The motion to renew the detention contract was made and seconded during the commission’s final meeting of the year and passed by voice vote.

The contract was presented by Speaker 6, who said the $68-a-day rate is the county’s lowest available option. Commissioners asked about bed availability; Speaker 6 acknowledged beds have not always been available and described the county’s 2025 out-of-county expenditures: $1,800 to Adair County, $10,000 to Boone County, $3,000 to Camden County, and $4,500 to Crane County — “nearly $20,000” in total, by the presenter’s account.

Commissioners framed the renewal as a pragmatic decision to secure placement capacity for juveniles while the county faces limited local bed availability. The motion did not include an amendment and no roll-call vote tally with individual names was recorded in the transcript; the action was adopted on a voice vote recorded as “Aye.”

Next steps: the contract will cover 2026 juvenile placements with Boone County under the presented terms; staff and the sheriff’s office will administer placements under the renewed agreement.