MOUNT VERNON — Some negotiations were in order when Mount Vernon City Council met with the Knox County Commissioners Monday night to discuss the 2013 jail contract.
Commissioners Teresa Bemiller, Allen Stockberger and Roger Reed presented a contract that included a 3 percent raise over the current contract. The proposal would increase the city’s jail fee to $321,272.67, to be billed on a monthly basis.
“Your general fund isn’t much different than our general fund,” said Terry Scott, city auditor. “Things are moving in the right direction but not sure we are there just yet. Inflation is not 3 percent; I thought a 1 1/2 percent increase was more reasonable.”
Scott said he thought council should consider “something slightly less” than the proposed 3 percent increase. Part of his reasoning, he said was that the city agreed to only a 1 1/2 percent increase in pay for city employees and did not feel the city should negotiate other contracts at a higher rate.
The city is required to pay the county to house inmates who have been charged with crimes under the city’s ordinance structure. As a result, the city collects the fines and forfeitures that are presented in sentences. Villages like Danville and Fredericktown present charges based on state ordinances which do not require them to pay for inmate housing, nor are they eligible to collect fines.
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