Larry DeHart
The Morehead News, Ky.
MOREHEAD, Ky. — Rowan County Fiscal Court Tuesday authorized County Attorney Cecil Watkins to file suit against the Kentucky Department of Corrections (DOC).
The county sent an invoice to the DOC dated March 30 for architectural plans and engineering services for the new Rowan County Detention Center.
However, the DOC responded to Watkins Monday with a letter saying the department is unable to provide funding.
Part of the letter read as follows:
“Even though the General Assembly passed KRS 441.420 requiring the Department to pay for the architectural plans and engineering services associated with any new local correctional facility, necessary budgetary appropriations have not provided to allow for the Department’s obligations under the statute.”
Judge-Executive Walter Blevins, who spent 33 years in Frankfort as a legislator, said sometimes the General Assembly will pass a law without providing funding.
“That bill was supposed to save money by not housing certain first-time, non-violent offenders, and that money would be used to build jails. I’m not sure if they know if it’s really saving money yet,” said Blevins.
He said he pushed for this lawsuit because the statute says the DOC shall pay these fees and he said he does not see how the state will be able to deny this payment regardless of a lack of budget appropriations.
If the lawsuit proceeds, the DOC can attempt to invoke the state’s sovereign immunity.
Sovereign immunity is a judicial doctrine that prevents the government or its political subdivisions, departments, and agencies from being sued without its consent. The doctrine stems from the English principle that the king can do no wrong.
Watkins said he does not think sovereign immunity will be a successful defense.
“We are a government agency attempting to enforce a statute and contract. It is different from a private citizen attempting to file a claim for damages,” he said.
The state expects around $50 million in surplus revenues at the end of this fiscal year.
But as a general rule, the governor cannot access the general fund surplus or pull money from anywhere else to pay this fee without legislative approval.
There has to be money in the DOC’s budget in order to allocate any surplus funds and the department said those funds were not provided in the last budget session.
The county has paid DLZ, the architect for the jail project, around $14,000. However, Watkins said he is still unsure how much the county will seek in the lawsuit.
One of the plans the county is considering for the future jail is to house state inmates, which will generate extra revenue that could be used toward loan service.
However, it is unknown how this lawsuit, if it goes further, will affect the number of state prisoners sent to Rowan County.