Pulaski County officials say they’ve figured out a way to cover inmate housing fees using money that’s already in the budget.
Sheriff Jeff Richwine previously told the county council he’s been paying the Indiana Department of Correction to house two of the county’s inmates who were having behavioral issues. He had asked for an additional appropriation for more than $24,000 to cover the cost.
But during Monday’s meeting, Auditor Laura Wheeler said she found another line item that could be used instead. “The commissioners have in their budget $50,000 for inmates in other institutions, which has been used in previous years for juveniles through the circuit court,” she explained. “And so, after talking with [Judge] Mary Welker today, she doesn’t think that she’s going to need that money, and I think that we can just pay for these out of that $50,000, and not actually use this additional.”
The county council voted to deny the additional appropriation request, in order to pay the bills out of the commissioners’ budget.
