State delays prisoner payment

Red Willow County is one of 25 Nebraska counties who will be put on hold to receive reimbursement for housing state prisoners.

The state owes the county $5,215 for the service. Statewide, counties are owed a total of $764,585.

The department denied the counties' claims for the last fiscal year after exceeding its $4.4 million budget for the State Prisoner Reimbursement Program, said Inga Hookstra, Correctional Services finance manager.

Claims from around the state continue to come in and the department is asking counties to submit claims by Sept. 15 to be included in the deficit request which will be taken to the Nebraska Legislature during its regular session in January.

In addition to Red Willow County, Frontier County is owed $11,830 and Hitchcock County is owed $5,810.

For now, the counties will have to manage without the money, Dix said.

Whether the state will have that money remains to be seen. Governor Mike Johanns is expected to call the Legislature back into special session towards the end of July to address the state's $137 million shortfall in sales tax revenues.

That comes after lawmakers agreed to $411 million in spending cuts and increased taxes in this year's regular session.