In a special segment of Monday's Sunflower County Board of Supervisors’ meeting, officials from Indianola, Sunflower and Moorhead met with the county lawmakers and discussed the legality of their arrangement to house prisoners outside of Sunflower County.
They were handed copies of a contract instituted between the county and each municipality regarding the housing of prisoners in the county’s jail facility and were advised that all municipalities within the county were operating under the same agreement.
Board Attorney Johnny McWilliams told the group of mayors, police chiefs, and aldermen that he was concerned about their decision to send arrested persons to jail facilities outside of Sunflower County.
Based on McWilliams’ knowledge of the state statutes, an inter-local agreement between the city and that county’s board of supervisors is required and the State Attorney General must approve that agreement.
He added that to his knowledge no city within the county had such an agreement with an outside county.
However, Moorhead Mayor George Holland said Moorhead has one with Leflore County, and it was approved by the Attorney General on Dec. 1, 2010. No other municipality, including Indianola and Ruleville, reported having such an agreement on file.
McWilliams cautioned them to be very careful regarding what they are doing because it could expose them to liabilities and the possibility of an audit from the state.
He said that until 2006, state statutes granted municipalities two options, one was to build their own jail to house their prisoners, and the second was to contract with the county board of supervisors, in their county, if they did not.
In 2006, a third option was introduced whereby they could contract with an outside county.
Board of Supervisors President Glenn Donald said they were just trying to share the legal way for them to do what they are trying to do.
Concerns surfaced over the past few weeks when county officials realized that cities within the county were sending their prisoners to jail facilities outside of Sunflower County. McWilliams’ address to the group was mainly focused on whether the cities were in compliance with state statutes, although, he too emphasized working together rather than working against each other.
“We’ve got enough stuff to work on together rather than be working against each other,” McWilliams added.
McWilliams assured them that he wasn't trying to make anybody look bad or cast any blame.
“In fact, if there's any blame, I just lay it right on me because I may be the only person that has knowledge of all of the details of the Sunflower County jail since it was constructed in 1994,” he said.
He gave a brief history of the evolution of the jail’s circumstances stating that prior to 1997 the facility was on the top floor of the courthouse.
“And the truth of it is, it was a dungeon,” McWilliams said. “It was not a fit place to keep people.”
He said that the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the county forcing them to stop incarcerating people there. So, to satisfy that lawsuit, the county built the current $2.5 million structure in its present location.
He said the county stayed in litigation until 2014 about the method of operation of the jail. That happened before many of the current board members came to office, McWilliams said.
Donald told the group that the county jail was constructed to house the inmates from their municipalities and added that spending taxpayer money in other counties doesn’t show well for Sunflower County.
“Makes us look bad, like we can't get along,” Donald said. “I just think we can get along.”
He asserted that the supervisors were simply trying to see what they could do to aid the sheriff in assisting the municipalities. He spoke about how much the sheriff's department already helps out the smaller towns, especially after hours. He noted that it looks good when they all can work together.
Jailer Eddie Bounds emphasized that the county jail was likely one of the best-run facilities in the state. And he admonished them not to let any personal issues prohibit them from taking advantage of the county’s lockup. Sheriff James Haywood stated that he was just hoping everyone could get an understanding, work out any problems and clear everything up.
In another facet of the session,
Moorhead Police Chief Bobby Walker disclosed that his reason for sending his prisoners to Leflore County was related to cash bonds that he set on offenders not being adhered to by the sheriff’s department. He maintained that his arrestees were being bonded out on 10 percent of the cash bond amount and that the bondsmen claim the sheriff told them to come bond the persons out. Plus, he was not made aware of the individual being released.
He further maintained that the sheriff does not have the authority to override the bonds he set on city prisoners and asserted that it happened on three separate occasions. Walker said that he called the jail to speak to Haywood about it, left a message for him, but never got a response.
Haywood responded that the officer who transported the prisoners told him the city manager set the cash bonds and Haywood said he understands that it requires a magistrate or law enforcement officer to set the bonds. “I was trying to find a way out where they wouldn't be sued and I wouldn't be sued,” Haywood said.
McWilliams told Walker that he wasn’t sure if Walker could set bonds, although he was unclear on what the law stated regarding the matter, but he would research it. Walker adamantly assured McWilliams that based on an attorney general’s opinion he, acting as the chief administrative law enforcement officer for the city, was authorized to set cash bonds.
Moorhead operates under a council-manager form of government, which is different from most other municipalities in the state of Mississippi.
McWilliams said, “I don’t know what our problems are in that area, but I guarantee we can work them out. I don’t think that’s beyond working out.”
Haywood avowed to work with Walker until the issue with the prisoners was resolved.
