CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A financial dispute between the Regional Jail Authority and Webster County could go in front of the Supreme Court.
The dispute? Webster County has a litany of overdue payments that they owe on per-diem fees to house inmates.
The petition filed Thursday requests Webster County to begin paying down the $1.3 million they owe the RJA for the housing of inmates.
“We’ve tried to avoid going to court on this, but it seems inevitable that we need the Supreme Court’s help in reminding, at least this county, that these are bills that must be paid,” Assistant Secretary Lawrence Messina of the WV Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety said.
Messina said Webster County isn’t alone. Nicholas County also had an overdue bill, but Messina said they were a prime example of how to properly handle the situation, and that there debts to the RJA will be gone by the end of the year.
“We point out that there are some other counties that are behind, but others have a shown a willingness to work with us to resolve these debts,” he said.
According to Messina, Webster County’s debt to the RJA is the “lion’s share” of what is owed across the state.
“They have not produced the needed result, and that is a time-table or a game plan for resolving their debt,” Messina said. “And unfortunately it’s the largest of the debts that we have from among the counties.”
The regional jails rely on per-diem inmate fees instead of state tax money from the general fund, and Messina said that this is an issue of public safety.
“They rely on these per diem inmate fees, and the other counties are abiding by the law–paying what they owe, being responsible,” he said. “And they may face an increase because the operational funds are direly needed.”
Messina said there are other counties dealing with economic hardships from coal severance loss, but are still finding a way to pay their bills.
“Coal counties are paying their bills–are finding a way to pay these bills that must be paid,” he said.
Messina would like to see a negotiated payment plan with Webster County as an end result to the problem.
The Webster County Commission did not immediately return a call for comment.