Sheriff exercises opt-out on St. Mary jail bond payments

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Mark Hebert has exercised his option to saddle the parish with full repayment of the Centerville jail construction debt.
An agreement with the parish on the bond repayment gives the sheriff the option to discontinue reimbursement if annual fiscal review indicates the department can no longer afford to do so, according to parish Chief Administrative Officer Henry “Bo” LaGrange.
Under the agreement, the sheriff has been reimbursing the parish $408,000 per year toward the $425,000 debt service from fees it gets from the state for housing Department of Corrections inmates. That number is based on $7 per day per inmate for 160 inmates, LaGrange said.
The agreement amended last October stipulated the 160 number of inmates regardless of the actual number being housed. LaGrange said the original agreement was based on the actual number of inmates which was often less than 160.
“We would have years where we would only get $300,000, we’ve always subsidized payment,” he said.
The sheriff still reimburses the parish one-third of the cost of inmate health care, LaGrange said.