Northport hands over its share of funding for Tuscaloosa County Jail

By WVUA 23 News Student Reporter Emily Benito

Northport is once more forking over its share of money for the upkeep of the Tuscaloosa County Jail. This isn’t anything new; because Northport doesn’t have its own jail, the city pays around $40,000 to $50,000 to the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office every three months.

The funds come out of Northport’s wallet because the jail houses anyone who’s arrested in Northport, said Northport Police Chief Gerald Burton.

“When we arrest someone we either have to house them or process and release them,” Burton said. “But since we don’t have our own jail, we contract with the (Tuscaloosa County) Sheriff’s Office and they do all that for us.”

Those services are calculated on a per-inmate, per-day basis, Burton said, which is why the amount the city pays varies.

“Those services are not free, and they’re not cheap,” he said. “We’re talking about around the clock security and processing.”