Fiscal Courts and county jails across the Commonwealth are struggling to meet the rising costs of housing inmates. Each county is responsible for providing housing for those who are arrested in their county, whether it be with a county owned jail or contracting with another county jail.
The county must foot the bill until an inmate is released or becomes a state inmate. As of Tuesday, there are currently two inmates in Adair County Regional Jail that have been incarcerated for a lengthy period.
David Denney, who is accused of murder, resisting arrest, and promoting contraband, was arrested on August 17, 2023, over 900 days ago.
He has had a trial date set four times that has been postponed at defense council’s request. Denney has also had four different attorneys during this time frame. His current trial date is set for July 20.
Joseph South has been incarcerated since March 23, 2024 on charges of murder, attempted murder and three counts of wanton endangerment. He was sent for a competency evaluation at Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center, which can take weeks to months for the evaluation and reports to be returned to the court.
South also requested felony mediation, and the case was unable to be resolved. In December, he was ordered to be evaluated again for competency. As of Tuesday, he has been incarcerated 697 days. There is currently a trial date scheduled for May 18.
Both men are incarcerated at the county’s expense. Adair County Regional Jail currently houses state inmates and Cumberland County inmates. The state pays $35.24 per day per state inmate; Cumberland County pays $36 per day per inmate.
Brenna Angel with the Kentucky Association of Counties said the average daily cost to house an inmate in Kentucky, excluding Jefferson and Fayette counties, is $63.44.
Regardless of the verdict in the trials, based on a rate of $35 a day, Denney will have cost the county over $38,000 and South over $25,000. If convicted, the men will receive credit for that time. However, under current law the county will receive no compensation from the state.
A state law allocates how much money counties receive from the state each year. The formula to calculate the amount was set in 1983 and amended in 1992. Adair County received $33,392.06 for fiscal year 2025-26 from the state and the overall jail budget is $2,460,600.
The jail does generate revenue, and this total amount does not come from the general fund of the fiscal court. Since July 1, 2025, the county’s general fund has contributed $1.1 million to the jail budget.
“The current system we have for funding county jails just doesn’t make sense anymore, and counties unfortunately are bearing that burden for state inmates, and the states are benefiting on the back of local taxpayers,” said Angel.
House Bill 557 is seeking to rebalance that cost.
“There have been situations where the person is sentenced to the time already served and they get to home because they’ve been in jail long enough, and the courts have said, ‘this is it.’ At that point, the county gets nothing on a state felony offense,” she said.
Angel said any time legislators hear from residents, whether it’s an email or a phone call, it matters. If people are talking about it, it needs to be addressed at the local and state level.
The bill is currently with the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee. The next stage would be a hearing, then it could pass to the House floor and ultimately to the Senate. Angel said they are optimistic and the bill is gaining momentum with 39 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.
By Amy Pike
amy@adairvoice.com
