Olmsted Jail Could Lose $300K After Dodge County Fee Hike

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Ol will msted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson continues to express his disappointment in a decision made last week by the Olmsted County Board of Commissioners.

Sheriff voices concerns over jail fee increase

During his regular monthly appearance on Rochester Today with Andy Brownell on News-Talk 1340 KROC-AM and 96.9 FM (5-6 p.m. weekdays), the sheriff discussed the 4-3 vote by the commissioners to dramatically increase the fee charged to Dodge County to house its detainees in the Olmsted County jail. The decision raises the fee from the current $75 per day to $323.

Click on the link below to listen to the entire interview.

Sheriff says Olmsted could lose $300,000 in revenue

Shortly after the resolution was approved last week, Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose announced that he had given notice to Olmsted County that Dodge County detainees would be shifted to jails in other southeastern Minnesota counties. Sheriff Torgerson says that will result in the elimination of a revenue stream for the Olmsted County jail that could exceed $300,000 per year.

Torgerson. Olmsted County photo

Dodge County detainees to leave Olmsted County

Torgerson explains that sheriffs throughout southeastern Minnesota recently reached an agreement on a $100-per-day fee with annual inflationary increases for housing detainees from other counties and it was hoped that it would be adopted by the Olmsted County Board. It's expected that Dodge County will be paying that amount to whichever county agrees to take its detainees after they are moved out of the Olmsted County jail.

Kim David TSM Rochester

Torgerson disputes Olmsted County's $323 cost figure

According to the sheriff, the $323 cost cited by the Olmsted County Board is misleading. He says it does not subtract the cost of providing medications and treatments to the detainees from Dodge County, which is an expense paid by Dodge County. Torgerson also contends that, outside of providing three meals per day, taking in an average of 8-12 detainees from Dodge County does not carry a significant cost to Olmsted County and brings in revenue for space that is otherwise unused.

Kim David TSM Rochester

Sheriff says housing detainees requires little added cost

Sheriff Torgerson says the addition of the Dodge County detainees does not require any additional staffing and that clothing, bedding and other miscellaneous supplies are items the Olmsted County facility is required to have on hand anyway to reflect the maximum capacity of the detention center. He also notes that capital expenditures and maintenance expenses are costs that would need to be covered regardless of the presence of the detainees from Dodge County.