(A) A.C.A. § 12-41-506(a) authorizes quorum courts to establish a daily fee to be charged municipalities for keeping prisoners of municipalities in the County Jail, the fee to be based upon the reasonable expense which the county incurs in keeping the prisoners in the County Jail.
(B) The County Quorum Court hereby determines that the reasonable expense incurred by the county in booking a person without placing him or her in the cell block area in the County Jail is $20.
(C) The County Quorum Court hereby determines that the reasonable daily expense incurred by the county in keeping a person in the County Jail is $54.01.
(D) The County Quorum Court hereby establishes the following prevailing rates to be charged all parties for keeping a person in the County Jail, effective January 1, 2017:
(1) For booking each person without placing that person in the cell block area: $20.
(2) For keeping a person in the County Jail cell block area in any day or portion thereof: $54.01.
(E) The reasonable daily expense based on the actual budget will be adjusted annually. In addition, the daily rate will be adjusted by the prior year’s CPI for the next year’s daily rate. For 2017 the daily rate will be adjusted by the 2015 CPI, and each following year accordingly.
(F) For billing purposes for a municipal inmate the first day will be billed after holding an inmate for eight hours.
(G) The Sheriff and the County Judge are hereby directed and authorized to:
(1) Bill all responsible third parties and demand payment within 90 days for all presently un- reimbursed expenses and costs of housing persons for those third parties;
(2) Bill all responsible third parties on a monthly basis for the county’s cost of housing persons for third parties in the County Jail and demand payment from the appropriate third parties at the prevailing rates set forth herein together with a demand for reimbursement of all out-of-pocket expenses incurred on behalf of a person housed for a third party (including, but not limited to out-of-pocket medical costs, transportation costs and legal defense costs incurred by the county on behalf of or due to the detention of a person housed for a third party); and
(3) Institute proceedings in court for collection of the county’s unpaid billings for the housing of persons in the County Jail for third parties and/or for removal of persons housed in the County Jail for third parties that are not paying the county’s billings in full within 90 days after the county’s demand for payment.
(H) Reimbursement from entities housing prisoners in the County Jail shall be made on a monthly basis based upon a letter of request submitted by the County Finance Department. Finance Department billing shall be based upon a prisoner reimbursement report maintained and certified by the Jail Administrator and Sheriff and submitted to the Finance Department by the tenth day of the month following the month of billing.
(Ord. 2010-12, passed 7-20-10; Am. Ord. 2017-11, passed 4-18-17)