Pike County officials are continuing to pay other counties for housing inmates due to jail overcrowding, highlighting the need for more space in the county’s aging correctional facility.
Supervisors on Thursday approved the payment of $13,583 to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department for housing county inmates.
Supervisor Sam Hall asked Sheriff James Brumfield how many county inmates were being housed in Hancock County.
“We’ve got 13 down there now,” Brumfield said.
Brumfield said that while Pike County is paying to house its own inmates in other facilities, it still has to house inmates in Magnolia from other agencies, including local municipalities as well as inmates awaiting transfer to a state correctional facility.
He noted that the county charges $30 a day to hold those inmates, which is less than the $45 to $70 per day that surrounding counties charge.
Brumfield suggested raising the rate that it charges other agencies to house inmates to about $60 per day.
“You’re never going to be enough to pay for it,” Brumfield said.
The sheriff’s office billed $32,814 to the Mississippi Department of Corrections for housing state inmates in May and $7,035 to the City of McComb, according to a record of invoices provided to supervisors.
The change would take place at the beginning of the next budget year.
Supervisors approved the change, pending the OK from board attorney Wayne Dowdy, who had to leave early and wasn’t present when Brumfield made his proposal.
Brumfield also suggested adding a dollar to tickets and justice court fines to help the sheriff’s office pay for equipment and vehicles.
“Prior to this year, you can purchase three cars with the budget we gave you and now you can only get two,” Gazzo said.
Brumfield also noted that the state allows counties to siphon unpaid justice court fines from offenders’ state income tax refunds, and supervisors took that under advisement.
In other business, the board:
• Noted the acceptance of a court order regarding a salary increase for victim’s assistance coordinator Jamie Murrell.
• Accepted the resignation of victim’s assistance coordinator Jonita Robinson.
• Approved a pay raise for corrections officer Lekeysha Miller, accepted the resignation of sheriff’s employee Hunter Fancher, hired bailiff Triston Wilkinson, discharged sheriff’s employee Christopher Haley, hired sheriff’s employees Dominique Gayden and John Jones, hired Tavarus Bates in the road department, promoted road employees Jason Coburn and Ross Busby and accepted the retirement of Percy Dillon.
• Accepted the criminal traffic account cash journal from justice court.
• Accepted inmate housing and daily meal logs for May.
• Approved a permit application from Magnolia city officials to install pipe across Quinlivan Road in a project that will hook up five houses to Magnolia sewer service.
• Approved the purchase of a quarter-page ad in Discover magazine.
• Approved a fireworks display by Pyrotechnico sponsored by the Pike County Baptist Association on Saturday at Southwest Mississippi Community College.
• Agreed to advertise for four tractor operator positions in the road department.
• Approved a contract with Tom’s Sheet Metal to repair the roof of the county-owned GroGreen building in Osyka, as well as a request for a 90-day extension because of delayed shipping of materials.
• Approved a lease-purchase agreement with McComb Diesel for dump trucks.
• Agreed to advertise for a contractor to repair Frank Oakes Road as part of an economic development project for Modern Mill.
• Approved travel for Central District Justice County Judge Loretta Conerly to attend a conference in Biloxi.
• Agreed to sell retiring sheriff’s deputy Percy Dillon his service revolver.
• Accepted a list of denied homestead exemption applications.
