MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee discussed the renewal of the city’s contract with the Knox County Jail which expires at the end of the year.
Knox County Sheriff David Barber has proposed a 4.5 percent increase in the fee it charges the city. The city typically signs a yearly contract with the jail to house prisoners instead of being charged per day per prisoner.
Mount Vernon City Law Director Bill Smith recommended the city continue to contract on a yearly basis.
“I do recommend you do a yearly contract so you don’t have to piecemeal how the per-day bill is adjusted,” Smith said.
Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis said at one time the city did contract on a per-day basis and it “was always a mystery budget item.”
