The Clark County Fiscal Court approved the second $75,000 transfer within a week to the Clark County Detention Center so it can meet payroll.

The court unanimously approved the second transfer during Wednesday’s regular meeting. The court approved a similar transfer in a special meeting a week ago.

Clark County Jailer Frank Doyle said an air conditioning repair during the summer put the jail behind. The repair cost about $20,000 and forced the county to move more than 30 state prisoners to other facilities for about three months, which also cut the revenue to the jail.

“The problem is the jail is 27 years old and age takes its toll,” Doyle said.

The system is now fixed and the facility is full, but funds have been short.

The county included a set amount for budget transfers to the county jail in its annual budget, but some magistrates have been concerned with the number of transfers so early in the fiscal year.

“For the time being, the fiscal court is having to transfer money at a faster than anticipated rate to cover payroll,” Clark County Judge-Executive Chris Pace said.

A week ago, the court voted to transfer $75,000 to cover the Oct. 4 payroll.

Magistrate Travis Thompson said they did one payroll transfer in hopes the jail would receive checks from the state, Madison County and Bath County, which contract with Clark County to house prisoners, in the meantime. With none in hand, the court approved the second transfer Wednesday, along with $15,000 for health insurance payments.

The county treasurer told the court there was about $129,000 left in the county budget for transfers to the jail for this fiscal year.

Magistrate Chris Davis also suggested waiting to pay some of the larger recurring bills at the jail, particularly for food service and health care, until later in the month to help the cash flow situation. While state law requires counties to pay all bills within 30 days, Davis thought it may help.

“It buys us a little time, just for the cash flow issue,” he said.

The court took no action Wednesday, and Pace said he wanted to investigate contracts and whether late fees might apply.

In other action, the court canceled the scheduled meetings on Nov. 28 and Dec. 26 because of their proximity to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Special meetings were scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 25 and Dec. 23, respectively.