Commission, sheriff clash over Mississippi County budget

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Mississippi County's presiding commissioner is willing to keep the county jail on ICE if administrators can show the county isn't losing money on the deal.

Sheriff Keith Moore opened a lengthy discussion during the regular weekly county commission meeting Thursday on the budget for his department by stating that ending the county's arrangement to hold U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees in the Mississippi County Detention Center would be "a big, bad mistake."

Moore said holding ICE prisoners has brought in more than $6 million.

"I know that's not all profit," he said, but said the costs incurred to hold ICE prisoners is offsetting costs the county would already have to hold its own prisoners.

Moore said if the county ends the arrangement with ICE, "you'll never get it back."

Moore recommended waiting until the first of the year to see what the presidential administration does with immigration and to allow the new incoming associate commissioners to make their decision on whether to continue to hold ICE prisoners.

He also asked for the current commission to help his department "survive the next two months" by making additional transfers to law enforcement from the general revenue fund.

Making drastic cuts to his department would "trinkle down" on other county entities, such as the prosecutor's office and the court system, as his department is responsible for most of the cases.

And, Moore said, he needs money to fulfill his obligation to provide safety to county residents.

County resident Christy Story, who noted her husband is works for the Sheriff's Department, expressed her concern about cuts resulting in lost jobs in the county.

She suggested County Clerk Junior DeLay not worry about being liable for unappropriated expenses when jobs are at stake.

DeLay explained he would be responsible for those bills and in turn suggested that Story go down to the bank and get a loan herself to cover law enforcement expenses.

"I can't afford $200,000 per month," he said.

DeLay also explained that it isn't his decision to appropriate or deny appropriations: he just provides figures to the Commission.

Story also suggested that cuts be made in all of the other county departments to keep the sheriff's department afloat financially, adding that public safety is more important than fixing potholes.

DeLay explained that the highway department's restricted funds can't be used for law enforcement and that only the general revenue fund can make transfers to the law enforcement fund.

And, explained Carlin Bennett, presiding county commissioner, pretty much everything but road and bridge department expenses comes out of general revenue.

Story asked why the county would stop holding ICE prisoners when it has been a source of revenue.

"They're not making a profit," Bennett said, but added that if they can show that ICE is making money for the county, "I'm more than willing to sit and discuss it. If you can show it breaks even, it's on the table."

Commissioner Steve Jones said upon first joining the commission he was advised that the county needs to hold 30 or 31 ICE prisoners to break even.

"Is it 20 people?" he asked. "I'm not saying 31 is right."

Moore pointed out that as of Wednesday, the county treasurer reported about $885,000 in the general revenue fund.

"The county is not broke -- we're not broke yet," he said.

Jones noted that ICE revenue has fallen short by $200,000 of the conservative projection in this year's budget which means general revenue will be depleted by that amount.

If general revenue is transferred to cover spending at the Sheriff's Department at the current rate, it would leave general revenue with a balance of about $160,000 at the end of the year, according to commissioners, who noted there is over two months left in the year.

"You might not think the county is nearly broke, but it is," Bennett said.

DeLay said state auditors have warned the county could be classified as a "distressed county" with a temporary drop in reserves to $350,000 and that being named a distressed county by state auditors would have serious negative consequences for the county.

Moore also criticized Bennett for discussing with the Missouri State Highway Patrol the possibility of extra patrols in the county if county law enforcement had less personnel.

Bennett said it wasn't his intention to overstep his bounds and apologized to the sheriff, explaining that he was just trying to figure out a "contingency plan."

He said the department spent $184,000 in September and the county cannot make it another three months paying that amount with nearly completely depleting the county's reserves.