YORK COUNTY, S.C. — Editor's Note: On May 2, during the York County Council Meeting, members voted to remove the city of Tega Cay from the lawsuit and approved an interlocal agreement with Tega Cay for services.
Original story continues below.
----------
The city of Rock Hill and the city of Tega Cay in South Carolina are both being sued by York County for reportedly failing to pay for services associated with sending inmates to the York County Detention Center, including not paying or reimbursing the county for housing its inmates.
Attorneys representing York County believe this lawsuit is about the "dignity of local governments under Home Rule."
In the lawsuit released Thursday, attorneys stated in June 2021 the two cities along with the city of Fort Mill, the town of Clover, and the city of York sent a joint letter to York County Council. In the letter, the municipalities said they would still send inmates to the detention center but had no plans to reimburse the county for the expenses associated with the inmates from the respected municipalities.
Although this letter was sent in June 2021, the Fort Mill, Clover and York reportedly continued to pay the charges for the detention center. By February 2022, the three municipalities also signed a written agreement with York County and the sheriff on the agreed terms of detention services.
After sending the joint letter to York County, Rock Hill and Tega Cay reportedly continued to send inmates to the detention center but have yet to pay for services. According to the lawsuit, the two cities refused to enter into written agreements that would hold the cities accountable for paying for services rendered at the York County Detention Center.
The lawsuit is asking a judge to issue an order that declares the following:
- Counties and municipalities are specifically authorized by the Constitution and state law to enter into written agreements for the joint provision of detention services, including the reimbursement of expenses incurred by the providing entity;
- The County and the Sheriff are not required to accept inmates committed to them by Defendants absent a written agreement between the County and the committing municipality;
- The agreement between the parties may require that municipalities pay the costs of housing their inmates;
- The County does not impose a tax for purpose of housing municipal inmates;
- No property is taxed twice for the purpose of housing municipal inmates in the County Jail; and 38
- No funds paid by a municipality under such an agreement will be funded through taxes imposed by the County.
- For a finding of breach by Defendants of their respective express or implied agreements and course of dealings with the County and the Sheriff regarding the joint provision of detention services;
- For a finding of a conspiracy by Defendants to violate state law regarding the joint provision of services and damage the County and the Sheriff in the process;
- For a finding of tortious interference in the contractual relations between the County and the Sheriff and each of the municipalities in York County regarding the detention of municipal inmates;
- For a finding that Defendants should be estopped and/or enjoined from continuing to send municipal detainees to the County Jail absent a written agreement with the County and the Sheriff for the joint provision of that service;
- For actual damages in the amount of all unreimbursed costs incurred by the County and the Sheriff for the detention of Defendants’ inmates;
- For consequential damages;
- For an award of prejudgment interest at the appropriate statutory rate on all unreimbursed costs incurred by the County and the Sheriff for the detention of Defendants’ inmates;
- For the costs of this action;
- For reasonable attorneys’ fees; and
- For such other and further relief as may be just and proper.
WCNC Charlotte reached out to the city of Rock Hill for a statement and received the following response:
Today, York County took the unfortunate step of filing a lawsuit against municipalities in York County. The County is completely aware of the City of Rock Hill position that these fees have historically been paid voluntarily as they are not required under state law. The City does not entirely object to voluntarily paying a fee; however, the City only plans to do so under a fairly negotiated agreement.
Just over one year ago, York County unilaterally and arbitrarily announced it was raising the daily fees for boarding prisoners to almost $100 per prisoner per day, essentially doubling the fee. This was done with no provision of information or background on how the fee was calculated. Many of the municipalities in York County announced they would not pay these fees. Several months later the County provided new information to the municipalities that reduced these arbitrary fees by approximately 20%. However, again no adequate justification was provided for how the fee was calculated.
In the spirit of cooperation and good faith, the City has paid all fees associated with the dispute. The fee has been voluntarily paid, even though there is no law requiring the City to do so. In fact, the state statute requires the County to board all municipal prisoners with no provision for fees. Beyond paying these fees, City of Rock Hill taxpayers already fund operations related to the Sheriff’s Office through County property taxes paid to the tune of approximately $7.9 million a year. Surely, Rock Hill residents have paid their fair share to York County for these services.
The City has made several offers on how we would be comfortable moving forward under a fairly negotiated agreement; however, York County has refused to negotiate. We look forward to providing additional information before the court and vigorously defending the residents of Rock Hill all of whom are also residents of York County.
Read the entire lawsuit below: