Jailer warns Marshall County of rising cost to house state inmates, urges support for House Bill 557

Roger Ford, the Marshall County jailer, told the fiscal court on March 17 that the jail is carrying a substantial financial burden from long-held pretrial and state inmates and asked members to keep House Bill 557 in mind as they finalize budget plans.

Ford gave specific detention-day examples and said 12 inmates have been held more than 200 days. He said the jail currently has 53 county inmates, 51 of whom are pretrial, and estimated those 51 pretrial cases represent about 7,938 days the county could seek reimbursement for if state payment were available. Using figures he cited, Ford said that at $66 per day the unpaid days would amount to roughly $524,000 and at $34 per day about $280,000.

"This is a statewide problem," Ford said, adding that if the legislature does not pass meaningful relief the impact "is going to be very devastating" for counties. He asked the court to note that he had submitted the budget required by law and that the submission may need revision if House Bill 557 does not pass.

The court moved and seconded to accept the budget submission Roger Ford presented (a statutorily required presentation); the motion carried.

Why it matters: Ford framed the issue as one of revenue loss and rising local costs when people held pretrial or as state inmates receive credit for days already served but the county remains financially responsible for housing them. County leaders said the problem is widely felt across Kentucky and urged continued advocacy at the state level.

Next steps: The jailer asked commissioners to press lawmakers on House Bill 557; the court recorded acceptance of the jailer’s budget submission but acknowledged the county may need to revisit appropriations if the bill does not advance.