Bill to help West Virginia counties pay prison costs 'did not have intended effect,' lawmakers say • West Virginia Watch

More than a year after a law aimed at reducing county jail costs took effect, some county officials on Monday urged state lawmakers to do more to help reduce those costs.

West Virginia counties pay the state per inmate per day to house inmates in regional jails. The state budget office calculates the daily rate based on the three-year average cost of housing an inmate. The current daily rate is $67.27 per inmate.

In 2022, prison bills cost the state’s 55 counties a total of 45 million US dollarswith many local governments citing this fee as their largest annual cost.

Bill 3552passed during the 2023 legislative session allows certain municipalities to have counties reimburse them for up to five days of jail costs for an inmate accused of certain crimes. Under this bill, the rate could drop to a discount if counties have less than 80% of their allocated beds occupied, which is currently $45.97. However, if they are more than 120% over the capacity of their reserved beds, the bill increases to an overage rate, which is currently $68.95.

Speaking to the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority's Legislative Oversight Committee on Monday, Berkeley County Commissioner Eddie Gochenour said the legislation had a significant impact on the county, saving it about $370,000.

But Gochenour said despite the legislation, prison costs remain a burden.

“It's getting to a point where it's becoming increasingly difficult for us financially to pay the proposed daily rates, which may be increased,” Gochenour said.

He said the county has done everything possible to reduce the cost of its jail bills, including implementing a day reporting system and a home detention system, which saves the county about $4.95 million annually.

Gochenour said he was not sure the counties should foot the bill. The inmates would be charged with crimes and brought before state judges, he said.

“I just have problems with these things because I know we need the money for more public safety, and I'm just asking that the counties' position be taken into account,” he said.

Bryan Arthur, deputy director of financial operations in the state Department of Administrative Services, said that while the intent of HB 3552 was to reduce the number of days counties are billed for, 34 of the state's 55 counties have increased the number of days they are billed for from 2023 to 2024.

“I don't know if it had the intended effect, at least not at that time,” Arthur said.

In several large counties, including Kanawha, Jefferson and Putnam, 80% of the prison beds allocated to them are underused, so they pay the reduced rate.

Arthur told lawmakers that covering the department's daily operating costs in 2024 will actually cost about $77 per day per inmate.

Arthur said four counties – Webster, Clay, McDowell and Lincoln – have accumulated about $10 million in overdue prison costs over the years.

Upshur County Commissioner Kristie Tenney said that despite efforts by lawmakers to clear up the county's jail bills, Upshur is still in trouble.

“Our tax revenues have not increased significantly yet, our prison bill budget has more than doubled in Upshur County in the last seven years,” Tenney said. “We have just explored various options [to lower jail bills] in Upshur County, for example, by expanding our stay-at-home efforts, working with our day reporting center, working with our district attorney, our sheriff and our judges. But we continue to struggle with difficulties without any relief.”