December 17, 2013
12/18/13 After some discussion, the Marshall County Commissioner approved a 1-year contract with Cedarbridge for juvenile detention services next year. When the new agreement was presented about a month ago it did not include the revisions that were in the current contract. County Attorney Jim Clevenger said it also included a substantial daily per diem increase.
A revised contract was received in the attorney’s office on Sunday on included the requested revisions but no change in the daily rate. Clevenger said the current rate is $99 a day and the proposed rate increases to $119 a day. The contract also included raising the number of bed days from 300 to 350 increasing the annual contract to $41,650.
James Phibush from the probation department said they had anticipated an increase in the daily cost when the prepared the 2014 budget. As for the increase in bed days, he said, the county had to purchase extra days this year. He said, “We just can’t predict the number of bed days we will need each year.”
During the discussion with the commissioners it was noted that the State of Indiana is requiring additional services and that was part of the reason for the daily rate increase. Another reason was the possibility of video conferencing with the courts in the future. Although Marshall County is set up for video conferencing Cedarbridge would have to purchase the necessary equipment to do so.