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Lee County board votes to suspend future payments for state-responsible inmates, seeks quarterly true-up approach
Summary
The Board of Supervisors voted to stop making ongoing county payments for inmates classified as state-responsible at the regional jail effective Aug. 1, 2024, and to forward bills to the state while using a quarter-behind true-up method to calculate withholdings; staff warned of contract consequences and interest/penalty risks.
At its July 16 meeting, the Lee County Board of Supervisors voted to suspend future county payments for inmates identified as state-responsible at the regional jail beginning Aug. 1, 2024, and directed staff to forward bills for those inmates to the Virginia Department of Corrections.
Supervisor (S8) moved the action and it received a second. County staff (S3) explained that the first-quarter payment had already been paid and described the regional-jail billing process as a quarterly true-up: the county pays on a budgeted schedule and a final calculation (true up) occurs later. Staff cautioned the board that withholding agreed payments could trigger default provisions in the regional operating agreement and permit the regional jail to assess interest or charge a nonmember daily per diem rate for inmates while the county was out of compliance.
Board members said they wanted to press the state for more reimbursement and agreed to a pragmatic operational approach: withhold payment on a quarter-behind basis (i.e., calculate the number of state-responsible inmates for July–September and deduct that amount from the October payment) while sending bills to the Department of Corrections and continuing outreach to regional partners and state legislators for a broader fix.
County staff noted the per-diem the state provides had risen to $15 per day but that operating cost per inmate (including debt service) is between $52 and $53 per day, leaving a local shortfall the county must absorb. Supervisors said the issue has been raised with state officials in prior years and acknowledged the approach may provoke legal or contract remedies from the regional jail; some supervisors urged trying negotiation and regional coordination first.
The motion passed by voice vote with the board directing staff to return with concrete numbers and implementation mechanics. Staff will calculate the prior-quarter inmate counts, pursue reimbursement options and provide a detailed plan to the board before the October payment cycle.
