Nelson details inmate housing costs, compares regional rates
BY JOHN BRICE
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LANETT — Requests for clarification from the Lanett City Council regarding charges from the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office for housing inmates arrested by the Lanett Police Department were addressed by Sheriff Jeff Nelson during the work session on Monday evening. There are two separate $10 charges listed for each inmate housed at the county jail, which council members felt lacked an adequate description of their purpose. Sheriff Nelson addressed the fees and the council’s questions.
“I understand you had some questions on the feed bill at the county jail,” Nelson said. “You all pay $10 to the sheriff’s department for food — the feed bill. You all have another $10 that you have been paying to the county commission since late 2015. That is something the commission did for boarding. That is what they used to put the new roof on the jail a couple of months ago. I get none of that money — that money goes straight to the county commission. The $10 is strictly for the food, to get them their two jumpsuits, all of their toiletries, towels and all of that stuff. That is what it pays for.”
Nelson also discussed how Chambers County’s inmate housing costs compare to those in surrounding counties.
“That is something that happened a while back,” he said. “To be honest with you, when we went up on the feed bill, I didn’t even know the county commission got $10 for a housing fee. We have actually borrowed twice from the comptroller’s office to pay the feed bill — $25,000 apiece to pay [it]. I will say, I am the cheapest hotel that you have around. If you want to house your inmates in Lee County, the city pays $48 a day for their inmates. If you want to house your inmates in Randolph County, it is $35 a day. If you want to go to Tallapoosa County, it is a $35 booking fee and $10 a day. That is the best thing we could do without hurting anybody.”
Nelson went on to explain how the arrangement came about.
“When we first presented this to the county commission a year ago, [it was] going to tack on a $25 booking fee. I had Mayor Riley contact me, and I had Mayor Vines contact me, and they said they could not afford to charge that. I asked them, ‘Can you all pay the $10 feed bill?’ They said ‘Yes, we can pay that.’ So, we dropped the $25 booking fee and just went to the $10 feed bill.”
During the regular council meeting, District 5 Council Member Kim Roberts, presented a commendation to a city employee for assisting a citizen during a medical emergency.
“Whereas city of Lanett employee Lane Lauderdale was performing his normal duties with the Electric Department, and whereas while performing meter readings on South Sixth Street in Lanett, Mr. Lauderdale noticed that a gentleman was lying on his front porch. Acting swiftly, he assisted the gentleman and dialed 911. And whereas the gentleman later visited City Hall to say he had fallen on his porch and was unable to get up. The temperature that day was 25 degrees, and he was very sure that if Lane had not come along to help, the results may have been tragic. Now, therefore, I, Mayor Heard, on behalf of the Lanett City Council and the citizens of Lanett, do hereby thank and commend Lane Lauderdale for his quick thinking and actions for making the city of Lanett proud. This commendation is hereby issued by the City Council on the 16th day of February, 2026.”
In Other Business
• The council approved Resolution 02-26-06, the inmate food agreement with Sheriff Jeff Nelson
• Resolution 02-26-08 was approved to select voting delegates for the League of Municipalities convention.
