Request By:
Mr. Robert W. Miller
Carter County Attorney
Courthouse
Grayson, Kentucky 41143-1296
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
You request a clarification of the daily transporting of county jail prisoners. You believe that OAG 84-235 is in conflict with KRS 441.510. The county official immediately responsible for transporting prisoners detained in the county jail of your county is the focal part of your inquiry.
Question No. 1
"Is OAG 84-235 interpreting KRS 441.510 as excluding a county jail from the term 'detention facility'?
"(a) If not, in a county such as Carter County where our jail is fully operating, would the sheriff not be required to transport prisoners pursuant to KRS 441.510(c)?
"(b) If OAG 84-235 is excluding county jails from the term detention facilities as used in KRS 441.510, who is responsible for the transportation of prisoners lodged in the county jail for court ordered and/or emergency medical treatment?"
In OAG 84-235, the Breathitt Fiscal Court entered into a contract with Clay County whereby juveniles answerable to charges in Breathitt County could be detained in the Clay County jail. The Breathitt County jail had been closed for some time. Breathitt Fiscal Court had contracted with Wolfe County for the housing of Breathitt adult prisoners, and had contracted with Clay County for the housing of Breathitt juvenile prisoners. Under KRS 441.510(3), where there is no jail in the county, the fiscal court of such county is required to adopt a transportation plan. The Breathitt Fiscal Court thus has the option of establishing the jailer, or the sheriff, or some other person as the transportation officer responsible for transporting Breathitt County prisoners to and from the place of detention (here, the Wolfe County jail (adults) and the Clay County jail (juveniles) ) as necessary. The present answer as to who has the transportation responsibility simply is that the officer or person charged with the necessary transportation of Breathitt County prisoners is that particular officer (jailer or sheriff of Breathitt) or other person designated in the fiscal court's transportation plan. The adoption of the plan is mandatory. KRS 441.510 relates exclusively to county jails. At the time OAG 84-235 was written, the then KRS 441.500(3) dictated that the jailer of Breathitt County, where the prisoners were to be tried, be charged with the responsibility for transporting Breathitt prisoners as necessary, except as otherwise agreed by contract. The new provisions of KRS 441.510 (amending KRS 441.500) are as above stated. Thus OAG 84-235 was written in terms of county jail detention.
As relates to question (1)(a), since Carter County has a county jail in full operation, under KRS 441.510(1)(c), the Carter County sheriff has the responsibility of transporting Carter prisoners (prisoners to be tried in Carter County) as necessary.
The answer to question (1)(b) is that the Carter County sheriff must transport Carter County prisoners who need medical care or attention, as determined pursuant to KRS 441.045(9).
Question No. 2:
"If the sheriff is required to provide the aforesaid transportation, what compensation is the sheriff entitled to receive from the county jail budget pursuant to KRS 441.505 and how should such compensation be paid?"
A sheriff can only receive compensation or fees for his public services as provided by statute. KRS 441.505(1) provides explicitly that the fiscal court of each county shall provide for the transportation of prisoners as necessary from the jail budget. Assuming the proper budgeting of such transportation costs in the jail budget part of the county budget, pursuant to KRS Chapter 68, the sheriff's actual costs of transportation should be paid out of the budgeted fund upon presentation of proper documentation.