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Henry County approves budget and raises jail medical line; jailer salary set
Summary
The fiscal court approved the county budget, increased the jail medical line from $20,000 to $75,000 citing high medical bills, moved $75,000 from the LGEA fund to cover costs, and set the jailer salary at $62,977.72. Magistrates urged support for House Bill 557 to reimburse counties for inmate costs after 60 days.
Henry County Fiscal Court approved its budget and adjusted the jail budget during the meeting, citing unexpectedly high jail medical costs.
Officials presented a first reading of the jail budget and noted the medical line must rise from $20,000 to $75,000; one inmate’s treatment produced a roughly $16,000 bill in the month under review. The court said it would draw $75,000 from the LGEA fund to help cover jail expenses and kept the contracts-with-other-counties line at $350,000.
The court then approved the county budget (motion by Danny, second by Brad). During debate, Magistrate Carl urged support for House Bill 557 (referred to as HB 557 during discussion), which he said would allow counties to be reimbursed after 60 days for the costs of inmates whose criminal charges originate under state law. Carl described the bill as potentially easing county jail budgets by returning some costs to the state once the 60‑day threshold is met.
The court also set the jailer salary for the election year at $62,977.72 (motion by Ed, second by Carl) to prevent pay reductions tied to elections.
Why it matters: county jail costs can be a significant budget pressure; the larger medical line and use of LGEA funds may limit county flexibility, and HB 557 — if enacted — could shift some ongoing costs to the state.
Next steps: staff will schedule a second reading/approval for the jail budget and track state legislation (HB 557) and its potential effects on county finances.
