Regional jail board ‘not interested’ in Crossroads regional jail proposal

The Clinton County Sheriff reached out to the Daviess County Sheriff and the DeKalb County Sheriff, both members of the Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail (DDRJ) Board, in regards to Crossroads Correctional Center. Earlier this month, Missouri Governor Mike Parson outlined a plan to close Crossroads Correctional Facility in Cameron, moving its 900 maximum-security prisoners to nearby Western Missouri Correctional Facility.
The Clinton County Sheriff was interested in counties going in together and turning Crossroads into a regional jail. The Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail Board members agreed that at this time, they would not be interested in this endeavor.
The new DeKalb County Presiding Commissioner, Kyle Carroll, introduced himself to the board of the Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail at their meeting held Jan. 25. He was given a brief overview of the jail operations by the board members and director.
The financial report was accepted by the board as follows: sales tax revenue for December 2018, $92,916.44; sales tax balance $50,041.94; commissary grossed $8,828.44 in January 2019; CD account 247 balance $245,821.49; CD account 977 balance $102,549.41; operating account balance $21,634.57; payroll balance $953.54; accounts receivable $315,933.66; accounts payable $46,974.62.
There was a discussion about cashing a certificate of deposit to cover accounts payable in January, due to many contracted counties not issuing payments during this month. Sheriff Becerra made a motion to postpone withdrawal of the CD until Feb. 8, 2019, which the board carried.
The board members signed a memo authorizing the update of signatures at Farmers Bank and BTC Bank.
The Missouri Sheriffs Association has established a group to set jail standards, and Tim Carder, deputy director at the DDRJ, is a member of the group. He has organized a pre-audit to verify compliance to standards to be completed at the jail in Pattonsburg in preparation for the official audit. Representatives from Mercer, Caldwell and Daviess County will be conducting the internal audit.
The board authorized the director to schedule financial audits with Steven Grant, certified public accountant, for 2017 and 2018.
A training update was given. Custody staff is scheduled to attend pepper spray and defense tactics on Feb. 9, with additional training scheduled in the future to maintain compliance with jail standards.
The tentative agenda for this meeting included a vote to close part of the meeting; however, a closed session was not needed.
The next board meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Feb. 22.
The above information is taken from the unapproved minutes of the meeting held Jan. 25. Present were Daviess County Presiding Commissioner James Ruse; Daviess County Sheriff Ben Becerra; DeKalb County Presiding Commissioner Kyle Carroll; DeKalb County Sheriff Andy Clark; Edmon Howard, Jr., director; Timothy Carder, deputy director; and Lori Burke, administrative assistant.
The jail’s 12-month financial report is available for viewing on the North Missourian website https://gallatinnorthmissourian.com/. The report covers operating account, payroll, sales tax, canteen and replacement funds.