Lexington County may tell town, state police to chip in for jail

Lexington County may join other counties that impose fees on municipalities and state agencies for housing prisoners in the county jail.

Doing that is one way to add guards amid a financial pinch created largely by state aid reductions that total $20 million for Lexington County during the past eight years, supporters of the plan say.

Fees would apply to prisoners awaiting trial or release on bond for offenses after arrests by municipal police, state troopers, the State Law Enforcement Division and other agencies.

About a third of the 44 jails in the state – including the one in Richland County – impose such fees, mainly for minor misdemeanors and municipal violations, according to Josh Rhodes, an attorney at the South Carolina Association of Counties.

Generally, fees aren’t imposed for arrests in major crimes, he said. But Richland County charges Columbia $25 daily per inmate regardless of the offense.

It’s too soon to say how much a fee would be and what it could generate for Lexington County.

Sheriff Jay Koon, who runs the jail, is developing a plan at the request of County Council members for review. Council members usually give a year’s notice of such changes to give communities time to adapt.

Adoption of the fee is “open for discussion,” Council Chairman Todd Cullum of Cayce said.

A look at the idea comes because as many at 60 new guards may be needed over the next few years in addition to the 97 at the jail now to help handle overcrowding, council members say.

The average of 800 prisoners there now exceed the maximum capacity of 599 that state corrections officials set, Koon spokesman Capt. Adam Myrick said.

About 60 percent of prisoners are arrested by municipal and state law enforcement, with the remainder by deputies, Myrick said.

Property taxes from county residents are paying $14.9 million for jail operation, according to the spending plan for the year ending June 30.

None of the 14 municipalities in the county has its own jail. But a few like Batesburg-Leesville and West Columbia have holding cells for brief detention until those arrested are transferred to the jail.

Opposition already is stirring to the possibility of a jail fee.

“I’d have tremendous indigestion with that,” Batesburg-Leesville Mayor Rita Crapps said. “Our residents already pay (property) taxes for that service, so imposing an extra fee for it is double taxation to me.”

Leaders in the town of Lexington and West Columbia likewise are skeptical of such a fee.

Irmo could face a larger bill for jail inmates since the town is located in both Richland and Lexington counties.

The town has spent as much as $7,900 annually for prisoners its police send to the Richland jail.

Irmo police aren’t encouraged to minimize arrests as a money-saver, Mayor Hardy King said.

“We don’t want to put them in that predicament,” he said. “If Lexington County decides to do that (impose a jail fee), we’d have to bite the bullet and pay.”

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Lexington County may tell town, state police to chip in for jail."