County drops plan to enforce jail fee

Jail director will continue to ask cities to move cases

Elected officials this week effectively chose not to even discuss enforcing a 10-year-old contract between the city and county of Spartanburg that allows the county to charge the city for housing inmates held on municipal offenses - even though such enforcement could free space at the county jail, and the discussion would have come at a time when space is at a premium.

Spartanburg County Councilman O'Neal Mintz first broached the topic last month, and he had to insist that it be included on the July council agenda.

Mintz, during a Public Safety and Judiciary Committee meeting, was allowed a few minutes to go over the history of the agreement, starting with Herald-Journal articles from 1995. He also cited minutes from public meetings and memos between public officials that either supported the agreement or addressed the cost savings the city of Spartanburg incurred by closing its municipal jail in 1997.

The councilman said simply enforcing the existing contract, in which the county would charge $45.65 per day for each municipal inmate held for more than seven days, could save the county $5 million over a decade simply by pressuring the city, the jail and the judicial system to make sure inmates are tried in a timely manner. The fee would only apply to municipal offenses, typically lesser charges such as public drunkenness or disorderly conduct.

Part of the initial reason for the contract was to give teeth to a state law that requires municipal inmates to be tried within seven days, but doesn't carry any penalty if they are not. And courts have ruled that counties are not legally bound to house municipal inmates for free.

The Spartanburg contract has never been enforced because of political reasons. Many elected officials are happy with the relationship the city and county of Spartanburg currently enjoy, for instance.

And it appears that will continue.

In front of the three-man committee headed by Councilman Rock Adams, Mintz made a motion that county administrators study the contract that is on the books - and signed by representatives of the city and the county - and come back in a month with recommendations on how to proceed.

Silence.

Adams, making it clear he didn't intend to support Mintz on this, asked the remaining committee member, Councilman Michael Brown, if he would offer a second. Brown stared forward and slightly shook his head.

Afterward, Spartanburg City Manager Mark Scott said, "We'll do our best to keep people moving through the system."

Jail Director Larry Powers said that, in essence, he'll continue with the current setup: Call towns that are approaching the seven-day deadline, and, if multiple calls don't solve the problem, then contact County Administrator Glenn Breed to resolve the matter.

"We have to have something in place to move them through," Powers said.

The Spartanburg County jail has struggled for decades with overcrowding.

The current plan to expand the jail - a $46-plus million project at this point - would create a facility that would be at or over capacity by the time it's built.

"At least it's back out for the public to see," Mintz said. "Who knows, maybe it will come up again."

Brown, an attorney whose council district includes much of the city of Spartanburg, said he was worried that bills sent to the city could eventually lead to higher municipal taxes.

As for moving inmates through the system in seven days, Brown said, "What's on paper and what's reality are two very different things. It's not feasible, and it's not possible given the number of people taxing the system."

Despite an apparent end to the public discussion, Brown said attention to the matter has stirred discussion on several levels, particularly on the administration of court proceedings.

"That's what we'll be looking at," he said. "I'm sure it will come back up."