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FCC ruling costs county jail revenue; commissioners explore interagency agreement with sheriff
Summary
County officials reported that an FCC ruling prevents the county from retaining certain phone-system revenue used to fund jail expenses and estimated a loss of about $110,000; staff and the sheriff proposed an interagency agreement and adjustments to DOC reimbursement processes to replace funding.
Sheriff (speaker 15) briefed commissioners on an FCC order that barred the county from keeping phone-system revenues used for jail operations. Staff said the ruling resulted in a six‑figure loss — ‘‘It was like a 110,000,’’ the chair observed in the presentation — and that the county must replace the lost revenue for items previously funded from that source.
The sheriff and auditors proposed handling the shortfall through an interagency agreement similar to arrangements the county uses for municipal inmates, and by seeking DOC reimbursements on a quarterly basis to reduce paperwork lag. Commissioners asked whether the state’s DOC reporting cadence (quarterly vs. annual) and paperwork compatibility could affect timing for realized reimbursements. Staff said the arrangement would likely require administrative work but would permit law‑enforcement purchases to continue under a defined reimbursement process.
Ending: Commissioners asked staff and the sheriff to draft the interagency agreement and related paperwork for consideration at the next advertised meeting so the county can restore authorized purchases previously paid from the phone revenue account.
