Grayson County can send inmates to the Cooke County jail at $70 a day under a deal running through next September

Grayson County has a signed agreement to house some of its inmates in the Cooke County jail in Gainesville through the end of September 2027, at $70 per inmate per day.

The interlocal contract is on the consent agenda for the Grayson County Commissioners Court's Tuesday, Oct. 27, meeting, which starts at 10 a.m. in the Commissioners Courtroom in Sherman. The court is not being asked to approve it, only to receive it into its minutes; the request form from the Sheriff's Office says it was submitted Oct. 20.

The copy in the meeting packet bears signatures above both county judges' signature lines.

How the deal works

The agreement is for beds only as needed and only when Cooke County has room. Neither side is locked in: Grayson decides whether to send anyone, and Cooke can decline to take a particular inmate.

Under the terms in the packet:

Grayson pays $70 a day for each inmate, billed monthly. Any part of a day counts as a full day, except that an inmate booked in after 5 p.m. and moved out before noon the next day is billed for only the arrival day.
Routine medical care is included in the daily rate. Grayson pays separately for dental, medical, mental health and lab services, and for prescription drugs, at the rates Cooke County would pay.
If one of its inmates needs more than four hours in a hospital, Grayson must supply a guard at its own cost.
Grayson handles all transportation except emergencies.

The contract covers Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027, and does not renew on its own. Either county can end it with 30 days' written notice.

Why the county needs outside beds

The county jail in downtown Sherman is finishing a new wing that adds more than 100 beds and a kitchen to relieve crowding. In early October, KTEN reported that Grayson County had renewed contracts with neighboring county jails to hold inmates as needed until the work is done, and that the Sheriff's Office was still targeting November for the new section.

A remodel of the older part of the jail is expected to follow and last into February, the station reported.

Sources

agendasuite.org

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