(A) Pursuant to I.C. 36-2-13-15, the Board hereby elects to implement the provisions of the Act, effective July 1, 1998.
(B) Pursuant to I.C. 35-50-5-4 and 36-2-13-15, a court may order persons meeting the qualifications set forth in the Act, to execute a reimbursement plan as directed by the court and make repayments under the plan to the county for the costs permitted by the Act.
(C) The County Council of the county shall fix a per diem payable by the prisoners which is reasonably related to the average daily cost of housing a prisoner in the county’s facilities. Pursuant to the Act, the amount of reimbursement shall be the sum of the lesser of such per diem determined by the Council or $30 per day multiplied by each day or part of that such person is lawfully detained for more than six hours, the direct cost of investigating whether the person is indigent, and the cost of collecting the amount for which the person is liable.
(D) The Board of Commissioners hereby directs the Sheriff of Howard County to develop and implement a plan to collect and account for prisoner reimbursements pursuant to the Act. With respect to reimbursement payments which the Sheriff fails to collect, the Board of Commissioners hereby authorizes the County Attorney or the Assistant County Attorney to institute legal proceedings to collect such reimbursements. As an alternative, the Board of Commissioners may enter into a contract for collection services under I.C. 5-22-6.5-1 et seq. In either event, costs of collection may be recovered pursuant to I.C. 36-2-13-15(d)(3).
(E) The Board of Commissioners hereby establish a separate, non-reverting fund for the placement of the funds collected pursuant to the Act, to be designated as the “Howard County Prisoner Reimbursement Fund.” Such fund may be used for any purposes now or in the future permitted by law, which purposes currently include the operation, construction, repair, remodeling, enlarging, and equipment of a county jail or a juvenile detention center.
(Ord. 1998-BCC-30, passed 6-15-98; Am. Ord. 1998-CC-32, passed 7-21-98)