Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers says he needs more money to operate the jail. During Tuesday night’s county council meeting, Myers explained that he needed an additional appropriation of $50,000 to cover overtime costs at the jail.
Myers talks about some of the accounting measures his department has taken to cover costs.
As for how the department plans to handle overtime at the jail for the rest of the year…
The Sheriff explained that an increase in inmates has been a factor in the overtime expenses at the jail.
A state statute, which took effect this year, requires counties to house Level 6 felons in their jails instead of sending them to the Indiana Department of Corrections. While the state reimburses the counties some money for every Level 6 inmate, Myers says that the county, on average, has to spend much more than is received.
The county council approved Myers’ request for the additional $50,000 appropriation in the hopes that it will be enough to cover overtime costs at the jail for the remainder of the year. The Sheriff is expected to ask for a substantial increase in staffing when preparing this year’s budget.