LANCASTER − The Fairfield County commissioners plan to offer Baltimore officials a contract to allow the village mayor’s court to continue sending inmates to the county jail, Commissioner Steve Davis said.
“I don’t think we have yet,” he said. “But I think we certainly will.”
The county commissioners on June 16 passed a resolution prohibiting the county from housing the prisoners because the two sides do not have a contract. The resolution would take effect 90 days from that date without a contract.
The jail will still accept those accused of crimes against Ohio Revised Code laws, however, but not those accused of violating village laws without the contract. The ORC says municipalities can use the county jail but must pay for the costs.
Davis said the village and county once had a contract, but that it expired in 1999.
“So it’s a very solvable problem,” he said. “As an attorney for a long time, something just kind of rubs me a little wrong with the mayor’s court sending people to jail. But I understand that happens and they have the right to do that. It’s not illegal. But for some reason, it kind of rubs me wrong.”
However, Davis said the county will get Baltimore officials a jail contract at current rates.
“I think the 1999 contract that expired was $50 day (per inmate),” he said. “Well, we don’t do anything for 50 bucks a day anymore. And, of course, the cost of medical over the last 27 years has increased by a lot. So we want to be careful, cognizant of that.”
Davis said a simple way of dealing with the issue is for the mayor’s court to charge an inmate under the ORC instead of village laws.
“And that makes it our responsibility,” he said. “If they charge them under local ordinances, then that’s the situation where it becomes their responsibility.”
Davis said he should have spoken to village officials before things got to this point.
“I think that probably would have been better,” he said. “But in any event, it’s a temporary problem with a permanent solution.”
Sheriff Alex Lape said there is occasionally an inmate in the county jail from the Baltimore mayor’s court.
Commissioner Jeff Fix said the issue stems from the Pleasantville mayor’s court sending inmates to the county jail for those accused of breaking village laws. He said Pleasantville has since dissolved its mayor’s court.
Baltimore Mayor Rick Ellas said the two sides have everything all worked out when asked to comment on the issue.
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This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Fairfield County plans new jail deal for Baltimore, commissioner says
Reporting by Jeff Barron, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette / Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Barron, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
