March 28, 2024
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Hancock County approves expenses Overdrafts cover inmate drugs, legal services

ELLSWORTH – The Hancock County commissioners on Monday approved $57,000 in account overdrafts for 2002 to cover unbudgeted expenses for legal services and prescription drugs for jail inmates, according to Ken Shea, commissioner chairman.

Shea said he called a special meeting of the county commissioners to review and approve payment of the overdrafts so that new commissioners who take office in January won’t be responsible for debts they did not incur.

The county jail budget for inmate health care, including prescription drugs, has swelled from the nearly $81,000 budgeted for the year to $135,000 in actual costs, Shea said.

The cost of prescription drugs is driving the increase in inmate health costs, he said, as more prisoners than ever are entering jail with drug- and alcohol-abuse problems or mental illness.

County government is required to pay the cost of all prisoners’ medicine and other health care costs, Shea said.

“It’s not easy to sit here and continue to pay these medical costs” when many of the same people who pay taxes to support the county budget cannot afford health care for themselves, he said.

The commissioners also approved Monday an overdraft in the professional services account of $20,000, Shea said, to cover legal expenses related to inmate lawsuits against the county and the harassment case brought against District Attorney Michael Povich.

Shea said the commissioners budgeted $24,270 for legal expenses for 2002, but will end up spending $54,000.

The commissioners in November approved the 2003 county budget, which will require a 9 percent increase, or $360,616, in the amount to be raised by property taxation.

The $6 million budget includes $1.6 million for the jail, an increase of $570,000 over this year. Half of the increase, however, is attributed to an accounting change, Shea said, whereby employee benefit costs, such as retirement and health insurance, have been included in each department’s budget rather than being lumped together in the county commissioners budget.

Shea said the commissioners increased the 2003 budget for inmate health services to $125,000, hoping to avoid more overdrafts next year.

“To be honest, it’s running away with us every month,” Shea said of the health costs for prisoners, particularly prescription drugs that can run as high as $6,000 a month.


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