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Knox County Sheriff Wants to Charge Inmates Daily Fee
Those who are imprisoned in the Knox County Jail may soon be charged a small fee. The Knox County Board, Wednesday night voted 11-1 in favor of a resolution to charge inmates $5 a day from their commissary account.

Knox County Sheriff David Clague said the program could generate nearly $110,000 a year for the county's checkbook . He said he figured on 60 inmates being charged the fee, once those who either can't or won't pay are taken out of the equation, as are federal inmates, the costs of which are billed to the federal government.

Clauge tells WGIL many other areas already have a program like this in place.

"Having gone to Florida for a meeting, there were a lot of sheriffs...only to find out the majority of them have been doing this for years," Clague said. "It's something not new to law enforcement. It's new to this area."

Clauge said he even learned of one county out of state that charges $60 per day which he said was "a heck of a source of income for the county". He says he doesn't think he could get away with charging that much, nor even as much as $10.

Clague says he's not sure this will be a permanent fee, saying he wants to see how it works out in tough economic times.
07 30 09 by Newsroom
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