News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Van Buren County Jail is generating revenue for the county.
That according to Sheriff Eddie Carter. He told the County Commission Monday night that although the new jail has been blamed for much of the county’s financial problems, it is bringing in funds.
“We’ve generated money with the jail that already exceeded what it cost to bring in the new employees,” Carter said. “We’ve returned about 30-percent of the budget for the jail in programs and things that we’ve done.”
Carter said the jail is currently averaging around $12,500 in revenues per month.
Van Buren County built a new jail in 2018 capable of holding 86 inmates. According to Budget Committee Chairman William Maxwell, expenditures for the jail have increased by over $235,000 since the facility opened.
Some of the expenses of the new jail were to be supplemented by the county housing state prisoners at $39-per-day, something Maxwell said has not materialized. Carter said he feels there may be some confusion about why that is.
“Mr. Mumpower at the Comptroller’s office caught me and the jail administrator off guard a little bit sometime ago,” Carter said. “And he’d been misled or lied to. He was told, according to him, that I refused to take any state prisoners, which is absolutely a falsehood.”
The Van Buren County Commission passed its 2020-2021 budget Monday night, including a 45-cent property tax increase. In addition, the Commission passed a resolution for a $40 Wheel Tax referendum to be placed on the November ballot.
