Reimbursement issues are discussed

Department of Corrections is behind on jail payments

CHARLESTON - Mississippi County commissioners will send a letter to Dick Burke, executive director of the Missouri Association of Counties, regarding Missouri Department of Correction reimbursement problems.

During their regular meeting Thursday, commissioners reviewed a June 4 letter from Karen S. Turley, circuit court clerk, with an attached e-mail from Marsha Holiman, president of the Circuit Clerk and Recorder's Association, regarding delays in reimbursements from the DOC.

Counties are reimbursed for prisoners they hold that are ultimately sent to the DOC. The reimbursement rate is presently at $20 per prisoner day after being lowered from $22.50.

Turley wrote that as of the last time she checked, the Department of Corrections was behind by $76,849 in jail reimbursements to Mississippi County and officials estimated the figure is probably over $80,000 by now. Turley also noted that Scott County is owed around $180,000 by the DOC.

The figures do not include reimbursements to the sheriff's department for transporting prisoners to the DOC, she added.

In the attached e-mail dated June 3, Holiman wrote that "claims are not being paid as promptly as they have in the past."

"They're going back to January, so they're half a year off," said Presiding Commissioner Jim Blumenberg.

The e-mail includes an excerpt from a fax from Mike Buenger, commissioner of the Office of Administration, acknowledging the processing of criminal cost reimbursements to counties has been slower than normal.

"The issue is not with personnel, but with the budget," Buenger explains in the fax. "In Fiscal Year 2003, the appropriation for the cost of criminal cases was reduced by $3,068,000. The appropriation was reduced based on reducing the reimbursement rate per day. We are nearly out of funds and have to prioritize as best we can the remaining funds to be spent. This problem will hopefully be corrected next fiscal year with a one-time increase to the appropriation to cover the FY-03 problem."

Holiman expresses concern in her e-mail about the phrases "nearly out of funds" and "hopefully to be corrected," and asks for circuit clerks around the state to "inform your county commission of the situation, so they can get MAC involved" as well as advising they should "speak with one voice" to ensure they are heard.

County Clerk Junior Delay explained as Holiman is president of the association, she is acting as spokesperson for circuit clerks around the state.

In other Mississippi County news:

* The county was determined to have a 53.4 percent low-to-moderate income ratio, making it eligible for county-wide Community Development Block Grant projects such as the installation of tornado warning sirens.

Mississippi and Pemiscot counties are the only counties in the Bootheel Regional Planning Commission's service area with a LMI ratio exceeding 50 percent, DeLay said,

* Commissioners will send a letter to the attorney general waiving any and all claims for legal fees and costs associated with the water quality certification hearings for the St. John's Bayou Basin project.

The letters are required as a formality associated with the out-of-court settlement between the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, bringing the water quality certification hearings to an end.

DNR has reportedly agreed to sign the clean water certificate but has yet to actually sign the documents, according to commissioners.