Hardin County jail failed to claim funds for housing state prisoners

June 16– A special audit of the Hardin County Correctional Facility released Wednesday found management had miscounted the number of days served at the jail by state inmates, resulting in the county not being paid state funds it was due.

Housing convicted felons brings in hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for Hardin County.

Auditors for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury examined 50 inmate files for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009.

Based on that limited review, auditors determined jail management under-reported the number of felon days by 235, resulting in an underpayment to the county of $8,225.

"Hardin County did not acurately count and assess the total felon days as reported to the state. As a result, we could not determine if Hardin County had properly reported felon days for the year," the audit states.

The comptroller’s office also said jail management did not accurately count the total inmate population, and found 127 under-reported inmate days.

The audit notes total inmate population "plays a critical role in determining the county’s total cost per inmate day at the facility."

According to the audit, the state pays Hardin County $35 per day for each convicted felon incarcerated at the facility, and nearly a third of the 38,627 total inmate days for the year were felon days.

In light of the past under-reported felon days, the state should make an adjustment to Hardin County’s funding for housing state inmates in future monthly payments.

Jail management was given an opportunity to provide a response to be included in the audit report, but did not do so, auditors said.

Hardin County Sheriff Sammy Davidson has not responded to The Courier’s request for comment left Wednesday morning.