Andrews County jail agreement on agenda

By THOMAS JENKINS     
Staff Writer
The Howard County Jail will likely be adding alleged wrong-doers from Andrews County to its roster of inmates soon, as local commissioners are expected to approve an agreement between the two counties during their meeting Monday afternoon.

The agreement, if approved by the Howard County Commissioners Court, will bring the total number of counties contracting with the jail to six, according to Sheriff Stan Parker.

And while the out-of-county inmates certainly aren't generating full coffers for the county government, Parker said the funds they bring in are nothing to sneeze at.

“We knew when we started accepting these agreements with other counties we weren't going to be hauling in the money, but the funding it does bring certainly helps,” said Parker. “We generally have one to two inmates from other counties in the jail at any given time and, at $45 a day, it can add up.”

Parker said the money brought in by housing the inmates has helped cover some utility costs at the facility and performs a service for outlying counties that are experiencing the same sort of overcrowding that spurred the county to construct the $11.57 million jail.

“Andrews County is in a situation similar to what we went through before the new jail was built,” said Parker. “I understand they are looking at building a new facility, as well. It's a problem a lot of the smaller jails here in West Texas have faced in the past several years. This contract will help give them some breathing room if they reach their capacity.”

Also during Monday afternoon's meeting, commissioners are expected to approve an agreement between the jail and Big Spring Federal Correctional Institution.

“This is a standard agreement between Big Spring FCI and local law enforcement agencies that simply allows us to provide services for one another,” said Parker. “We have to approve this agreement every so often.”

The court will also hear from County Auditor Jackie Olson on the county's fiscal situation during the meeting, according to officials.

“Jackie's just going to give us a review of our financial statements so we know where we are right now,” said County Judge Mark Barr.

The meeting will get under way at 1 p.m. Monday in the commissioners courtroom, located on the third floor of the county courthouse. For more information, contact the county judge's office at 264-2202.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it