Counties rightfully win ruling on excessive juvenile detention costs

Manatee County's years-long battle with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice just got a break. Manatee and other counties across the state sued DJJ over collective overbilling for juvenile detention costs.

A 2004 state law divides those costs: counties pay for incarceration before adjudication; then, upon conviction, the state assumes that responsibility. Supposedly.

The state came up with a convoluted and unjustified formula for sharing costs in 2009, essentially bilking counties out of tax revenue. Counties want reimbursement.

In a Pinellas County case, the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled in an opinion released this week that DJJ must cough up the money. The agency had told the court it didn't have any, claiming only the Legislature could solve that problem. The court rejected that argument, ordered DJJ to find the money, and apply credits in future bills until the debt is settled.

Should the ruling stand, that means Manatee County will receive taxpayer monies returned, a boost to the county budget. Cheers to that.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Counties rightfully win ruling on excessive juvenile detention costs ."