Stephens County Commissioners Consider Motion to Pay the City of Toccoa

Stephens County Commissioners are considering a motion to pay the City Of Toccoa for their share of funding the County Probation office.

At a recent meeting, Stephens County Administrator Phyllis Ayers told the board that under the probation agreement with the City, all of the fees and expenses are added up at the end of the fiscal year to determine each side’s share and this year, the county owes the city just over $23-thousand dollars.

Ayers notes some years the agreement works out differently.

However, the discussion prompted commissioner Debbie Whitlock to ask about the county jail and whether the city pays for housing inmates there.“So we owe them, the city, 23 almost 24 thousand dollars for probation fees that they’ve collected, and I say this with all due respect to the city, but we have to pay them this, but is the city paying the county for the inmates that we house at the jail, and if they are, why are they not?”

Ayers says that the city is sent a bill by the county regarding the jail, but she says the county has never received payment from the city.

Commissioner Dennis Bell, who serves as the police chief in Comer, says Madison County charges municipalities in its county for housing inmates.
Following that discussion, commissioner Stanley London made a motion to table probation office payment until the county commission could discuss the matter with both the sheriff and the city commission.

That motion to table passed unanimously.

County officials said the matter will likely be taken up at a joint meeting between the Toccoa City Commission And Stephens County Commission later this month.