TEXARKANA, Ark. - Although the Miller County detention center still has room to accommodate its inmate population, county officials approved a measure Monday evening to keep the jail from overcrowding.
The Miller County Quorum Court voted to allow the sheriff's office to reduce some inmates' jail time in order to avoid jail overcrowding, if the need arises.
The county's justices of the peace approved a "meritorious good time" policy that would allow the Sheriff's Office to choose inmates who qualify.
"This would only apply inmates who are serving time in the county jail and who would qualify for release at the sheriff's discretion," said the county's Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Mark Lewis.
"This just gives us the ability to have this option available to us in case the need ever comes up."
In other business, the JPs voted to move the Quorum Court's regular monthly meeting time from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. starting next month. They also approved an emergency ordinance allowing District 4 JP Carl Standridge to continue selling insurance policies to county employees and elected officials
Prior to the Quorum Court's regular meeting, the county's Budget and Finance Committee met to consider some cost overruns at the county's juvenile detention center. Following nearly a hour of discussion, however, the committee decided to reconsider the topic again, next month - in addition to possibly having the county's Jail Committee meet on the matter.
Budget and Finance Committee Chairman Ernest Pender felt the matter deserved more urgency.
"This is really something that needs to really be addressed," he said.