COUNTY SAYS NEW JAIL WILL HELP FINANCIALLY

Language contained in the 2000 financial statement for Cape Girardeau County can leave some scratching their head in confusion.

But county officials offered explanations of the more mysterious accounts named in the 2000 financial statement that was published in the legal-notices section of Southeast Missourian on March 1.

"This gives a picture of everything we've done finance-wise," Cape Girardeau County Auditor H. Weldon Macke said.

The end-of-year 2000 Cape Girardeau County treasury balance of about $1.2 million is less than in past years, said the county auditor. But Macke said he expects the figure to return to the normal comfort zone by the revenue generated from the new county jail.

Macke said government reimbursements for prisoners should ultimately bring the county reserve to the usual 10 to 20 percent of total revenue, or about $2 million.

How quickly the county will recoup its investment will depend on the number of "paying guests" the new jail receives, Macke said. The state reimburses for state prisoners, and the federal government reimburses for federal prisoners. Sheriff John Jordan said the jail could generate $50.82 per day per prisoner. That per diem, multiplied by the 42 beds earmarked for state and federal prisoners, multiplied by 365 days, equals a $779,070 maximum that the jail could generate per year, said Jordan.

But the jail holds additional savings for the county, said the sheriff, when you consider that for the last two years the county has been paying about $280,000 annually to house its overflow of prisoners in other counties.