Rome Faces Higher Costs for Inmate Housing

It seems the price of everything is going up, and that includes the cost of housing inmates at the Floyd County Jail.

Rome contracts with the jail to house inmates who are arrested on municipal charges and the current agreement has expired. Under the old agreement, the booking fee was $15 and there was a minimum $40 per day inmate fee. Under the new agreement, those rates go up to $25 and $65, respectively.

“While nobody wants to pay more, I also don’t want to recommend that (the city) get into the jail business,” said Rome City Manager Sammy Rich during Tuesday’s public safety committee meeting. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be these days. So, while I’d rather not pay more, with all things being considered, this is not unreasonable for us.”

The contract is only for those housed on municipal charges, such as DUI. Oftentimes, those cited for traffic violations or offenses like criminal trespass are not housed at the jail.

The county commission approved the contract in January.

Changes to alcohol server ID process

Also Thursday, the public safety committee heard a proposal from Rome Police Department Assistant Chief Rodney Bailey to change the way the department handles the issuance of licenses for serving alcohol.

Currently, the permitting officer runs a background check. If a license is denied based on the background check, the applicant can appeal to the Rome Alcohol Control Commission. Typically, the appeal is successful.

Under the proposal, which has been discussed for some time, police would continue to do the IDs but no longer do the background check or fingerprinting. It would be up to the employer to do background checks on the new hires.

“Most of the service industry and the courts are about second and third chances,” Bailey said. “Typically, for some of them, it may be their last chance to get a job. So, they will tend to have that grace and give them the permit so they can go to work.”

Bailey, who will next take the matter to the ACC, said there would still be a charge of $10 to cover the cost of making the ID and if there is a violation for underage service, penalties would be levied against the server’s permit.