12/30/2020
Missouri State Auditor
Nicole Galloway today released an audit of the County Reimbursement Program,
which reimburses county governments for certain costs for housing and
transporting state prisoners. The program is administered by the Missouri
Department of Corrections. The audit found that a combination of delayed
reimbursements due to lack of state funding and increasing incarceration costs
has resulted in the necessity for counties to rely on local resources.
"Local taxpayers
are left footing the bill because the state has not been keeping up its end of
the deal and the cost of incarcerating state prisoners is increasing,"
Auditor Galloway said. "This is an issue throughout Missouri, but is
particularly concerning for smaller communities where revenue is especially
limited. Our audit clearly outlines the facts and details the problems with
this program so that the legislature can evaluate the information and make
changes."
Under state law,
counties can be reimbursed for criminal costs, prisoner transportation and
extradition costs for state prisoners. Counties submit claims throughout the
year for these expenses and the Department of Corrections processes these
payments on a first come, first served basis. However, state appropriations
have not been sufficient to cover reimbursement claims.
As of June 30, 2020, the
state owed about $31 million to counties that it did not have the appropriation
authority to pay. In fiscal year 2021, the General Assembly approved $52
million for county reimbursements, which includes $9.75 million for unpaid
reimbursements. This addresses about a third of the outstanding claims still
owed to counties.
The audit reported the
Department of Corrections has not requested sufficient funds to pay the outstanding
reimbursement claims and past budget requests haven't included information
about the previous years' shortfalls. The audit recommended that the department
request the money necessary to pay all obligations and ensure the financial
history of the program is included so that legislators have an understanding of
how much is owed to county governments.
Additionally, while the
reimbursement rate paid by the state has kept up with inflation over the last
10 years, it is essentially the same as the rate paid in 1998. During this time
incarceration costs have continued to increase. The state provides a
reimbursement of $22.58 per day, but actual costs average closer to $49 a day.
The increasing difference means counties have to subsidize the cost of housing
these prisoners. The audit found that counties subsidized an estimated $41
million in incarceration costs for state prisoners during the 2020 fiscal year.
Auditors surveyed
counties to better understand the impact of low reimbursement rates and delayed
payments. According to these local officials, issues with state reimbursements
resulted in not having enough revenue to cover jail costs and, as a result,
having to reduce other services or increase local tax rates. Additionally, lack
of revenue leads to difficulty in hiring new sheriffs' employees due to low
salaries or lack of equipment.
The audit also found
inconsistencies in the law related to reimbursements. Under the law, the state
reimbursement rate can go up to $37.50 a day, but is subject to appropriations.
However, there are varying interpretations of the statute because this language
is not consistent with how reimbursements are set (on a per day basis) and how
state funds are appropriated (by year). The audit recommended that the
legislature amend the statute to clarify the intent of the law so local
officials can better understand what to expect from the state reimbursements.
The complete audit
report is available here.