Trenton/Midd City Jail Contract

Journal story....

Trenton inmates no longer welcome at Middletown City Jail after bills go unpaid...

MIDDLETOWN —
The city of Middletown stopped accepting inmates from Trenton at its city jail because Trenton did not pay bills for jail services last year, officials said.

Trenton owes nearly $26,000 in unpaid jail housing costs for a period from March 1 to Sept. 30, 2018. That amount equates to about 323.5 jail days.

Trenton signed a one-year contract with Middletown, and Trenton City Council approved a motion in on April 2018. Trenton was to pay $80 per day or part day per prisoner housed at the jail. Prisoners accepted at the jail were those charged felony offenses or crimes of violence.Middletown police Chief Rodney Muterspaw acknowledged his department did not send the bills promptly. However, Trenton is still obligated to pay, he said.“This was over a 14-month period when there was a transition of police chiefs, jail commanders and clerical staff,” Muterspaw said. “But once we caught it, we sent out letters.”

“We told them that major changes were coming regarding prisoners and the intake of certain crimes,” Muterspaw said. “They were not happy with that and disagreed with our upcoming process saying it would cause hardship on their staffing.”

Then Trenton shouldn't have signed a contract if it caused this "hardship". They also have no say so in the police department's procedures in this matter.

After Trenton was charged $16,361 for the period of March 1 to June 30, officials told Middletown they were not expecting such a high bill, Middletown officials said.Middletown’s Law Department and Trenton officials discussed the issue, and that bill was not paid. From July 1 to Sept. 30, Trenton continued to house prisoners in Middletown, which added another $9,520 to the bill

On Oct. 1, Trenton started arresting offenders under state code and taking them to the Butler County Jail to avoid housing costs.Scott said Trenton had been housing prisoners in Middletown for years and had never been billed. He added that there is no funding in his budget for housing prisoners.After receiving the bill from Middletown, he tried to contact Muterspaw to negotiate, he said.“I want them to recognize that it’s wrong for them to pull the plug and not return phone calls or emails,” Scott said. “They used the contract to kick us out.”Muterspaw said he declined to talk to Scott after Trenton’s city attorney became involved and referred everything to the Middletown Law Department. He said they have been at the same chiefs meetings and Scott never talked to him about the issue.

The Trenton police chief stated "they used the contract to kick us out". That's how it works Scott. If you don't honor the contract your city signed, you no longer can participate and are held accountable for your portion of the contract. Simple enough to understand bud.

And here's the real tragedy from this outcome.......

"“The bottom line is our taxpayers were paying for their prisoners’ jail stay, medical, food, etc. It wasn’t right.”"

Did Trenton actually think the taxpayers of Middletown should pay for THEIR prisoners and the Trenton taxpayers should have a free ride on this?

Kind of cut and dried on understanding isn't it? Pay what you have agreed upon Trenton.

Chief Muterspaw.....one of a few in the city building who has any common sense, makes the right decisions and seems to have a level head on his shoulders in any situation. We need more of the same from city leaders. After his stint as police chief, Mr. Muterspaw should be our next city manager IMO.