Olmsted County Reverses Course on Dodge County Jail Fee

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Olmsted County Board of Commissioners has voted to rescind, at least temporarily, a recent decision to dramatically increase the fee charged to Dodge County for housing detainees in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center.

Olmsted County Reconsiders Dodge County Jail Fee

The earlier decision called for raising the daily fee charged to Dodge County from $75 to $323 per person. The resolution was approved on a 4-3 vote after the commissioners were told that a Minnesota Department of Corrections analysis indicated that the overall cost of housing a detainee in the county jail was $323 per day.

Olmsted County

Sheriff Torgerson Proposed $100 Daily Rate

Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson, who had proposed increasing the fee to $100 per day after consulting with Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose and other sheriffs in the region, argued that the state corrections department estimate is inaccurate and should not be applied in this case because it includes expenses paid by Dodge County, particularly those involving medical treatments needed by detainees.

Torgerson. Olmsted County photo

The sheriff also contends that the additional expense of housing Dodge County detainees is minimal because it does not require significant staffing adjustments, and most of the other costs are fixed expenses that would have to be paid by Olmsted County even if the jail cells are not used.

After the vote to approve the increase in the fee, the Dodge County sheriff announced that his office would find space in other jails in southeastern Minnesota to house its detainees. Sheriff Torgerson indicated that would directly impact the operations of the Olmsted County jail because it would eliminate around $300,000 in annual revenue.

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

Commissioners Vote 5-2 to Delay Increase

Olmsted County Commissioner Bob Hopkins, who was among the three commissioners who voted against the fee increase, requested a reconsideration of the decision, which was taken up by the county board at its meeting on Tuesday. This time, the commissioners voted 5-2 to hold off on the increase to $323 per day for one year to allow for more study of the issue. The county board also voted to adopt the $100 per day fee that was previously proposed by Sheriff Torgerson for next year.