Published: October 07, 2008 11:42 pm      

MPD to house prisoners in Decatur

Inter-local agreement approved by Newton County supervisors

During his report to the Meridian City Council Tuesday morning, Mayor John Robert Smith said the Newton County Board of Supervisors had approved the inter-local agreement between the Newton County Jail and the Meridian Police Department to house prisoners from Meridian.

Smith mentioned the agreement in such a low key manner that if you weren't listening closely you might have missed the announcement.

For many days now the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors and the City of Meridian have been going back and forth over fee amounts for Meridian to house prisoners in the Lauderdale County Adult Detention Facility. Unable to come to a compromise, City of Meridian Chief Administrative Officer Ken Storms said the city began shopping around for alternatives.

"We already had a memorandum of understanding with the Newton County officials in which MPD Chief Benny DuBose and Newton County Sheriff Jackie Knight agreed to the arrangement," said Storms. "To follow up on the Newton County supervisors vote to approve the agreement, the city council here will vote to approve the measure at the next council meeting."

The City of Meridian will be charged $20 per day per prisoner. Lauderdale County supervisors wanted to charge the city $30 per prisoner, per day. Storms said the savings will more than offset the cost of transporting prisoners to and from Decatur.

Knight said all misdemeanor prisoners from Meridian will be housed in the Newton County facility. He in no way wanted to make it seem he was meddling in business from another county.

"Listen, I just wanted to help a fellow law enforcement agency," Knight said. "I'm not out to cut Sheriff Billy Sollie's throat or to get into anyone's business. I'm just trying to help out Chief DuBose. I've done the same with other agencies in other counties. If I'm in the same shape I would hope somebody would come to my aid. We ain't getting rich by no means. We just happen to have the space available."

Currently, Knight said two Meridian prisoners are at his jail.

Sollie, who has been in contact with the State Attorney General's Office, said he has reason to believe the agreement is not legal until the attorney general's office examines it and signs off on it. "But I'm not the one who would get into trouble if there is in fact some sort of violation," Sollie said. "This will be something for the officials at the AG's Office, Newton County and the City of Meridian to deal with."

Attempts to reach an official at the Opinions Division of the attorney general's office Tuesday were unsuccessful.