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Oktibbeha supervisors adopt standardized prisoner-housing policy, set $35 daily rate for noncontracted inmates
Summary
The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors approved a new prisoner-housing policy that standardizes contracts, adopts a circuit-court timing standard for county responsibility and sets an uncontracted housing rate of $35 per day; municipalities have 60 days to negotiate new agreements.
The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt a standardized prisoner-housing policy and to set an uncontracted daily housing rate of $35, actions officials said are intended to clarify when municipalities must transfer custody and to provide a single template for interlocal contracts.
County Administrator Wayne Carman told the board staff and the county attorney had worked on the draft policy to fill what he described as “a gap in the law” about when a municipal prisoner becomes a county prisoner. The policy designates the circuit-court (indictment) standard as the point at which custody responsibility transfers to the county and establishes three ways a person may be housed: under a negotiated contract, on a noncontracted basis (at the $35 per day rate), or under temporary mutual aid agreements at no charge for short-term transfers.
The policy also includes a standard contract template and mutual-assistance language county officials said can be revised if state law changes. The board adopted the policy by motion; a separate motion set the uncontracted rate at $35 per day. A final motion authorized the board president to notify municipalities of the new standards; that notice will start a 60-day period for existing municipal agreements to be reviewed or renegotiated.
County counsel and administrators stressed the change does not immediately terminate existing agreements but begins the notice process that lets municipalities decide whether to enter the new contract terms before the county’s 60-day window expires. Officials said the policy was drafted with reference to state guidance and prior attorney-general discussion about custody standards.
Supervisor Williams moved to adopt the policy and Supervisor Little seconded; both the policy resolution and the rate resolution passed unanimously. The board then voted to authorize the board president to issue notices to municipalities, also by unanimous vote.
What happens next: county staff will send the formal notification to cities and towns in Oktibbeha County, begin any contract transitions required by the policy, and monitor responses during the 60-day window. The board and county legal staff said they may revisit policy language if state law or an attorney-general opinion changes.
Ending: County officials said the policy aims to reduce disputes between municipalities and the county over custody and billing and to provide a single, consistent template for future agreements.
