From 2009 to 2013, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice overcharged Okaloosa and dozens of other counties millions for housing prisoners. During that same period, DJJ returned more than $78 million in unused funds to state coffers, Okaloosa County Attorney Greg Stewart said.
“Counties as a whole were found to be overpaying approximately $40 million a year,” Stewart said during a presentation to Okaloosa County Commissioners. “Now during this same period of time, DJJ was reverting money back to the state.”
Stewart updated the board on the county’s ongoing litigation with DJJ over $3.1 million in overcharges. County officials had hoped the state Legislature would step in and fund a reimbursement of counties, but no compromise was reached during the spring session.
County Commissioner Nathan Boyles said he wants the county to continue pursuing some kind of judgment by the courts on reimbursement of the overcharges. County Administrator Ernie Padgett agreed and said DJJ intentionally “calculated on how they can skew things around and put the undue burden on county governments.”
Padgett and Stewart will attend a June 6 hearing in Tallahassee, during which the DJJ will rewrite its rules to conform to the governor’s new budget, which calls for counties to pay 57 percent of juvenile detention costs and the state to pay 43 percent.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa County continues fight with Juvenile Justice dept.