Berkeley County is one of three counties in West Virginia that owes the state more than $1 million in jail fees for the 2008 fiscal year. All three counties, including Berkeley, Mercer and Kanawha, are now receiving collection letters, but those aren’t the only letters they are going to receive.
In an attempt to look past the bills and towards financial relief when it comes to how much Berkeley County ends up paying in regional jail costs, Commission President Steve Teufel said Thursday that now is an opportune time to get Mercer and Kanawha Counties involved in pushing for legislative action.
For some short term relief, Commissioners signed an agreement with Justice Benefits Incorporated, which would essentially allow them to receive federal reimbursements for inmates being housed in Eastern Regional Jail that qualify for that funding.
County Administrator Deborah Hammond says that Berkeley is the only county in the Eastern Panhandle that has made the decision to go with the Justice Benefits Program, and their decision was heavily based on surrounding counties, such as Washington County in Maryland and Loudon County in Virginia – which have participated, and received reimbursements. Hammond says the useful thing about this program is that if an audit is done by Justice Benefits, and there are no inmates that qualify for federal funding, Berkeley County will incur no costs.
 

Categories: Local News
Tags: Berkeley, Budget, Commission, Eastern Regional Jail, economy, Hammond, Jail, Teufel