STRYKER, Ohio — A Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio committee today voted 5-1 against a request from the city of Toledo for a special audit of the regional jail’s finances.

Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson last week sent a letter to CCNO requesting the audit. The city is delinquent in paying all of its bill for the remainder of this year for jail beds.

Law Director Adam Loukx told the financial overview committee today that the city wants the special audit because of the changes made by the city to charge offenders under state law rather than city ordinances. Toledo leaders ultimately want to know whether they were wrongly billed for beds it didn’t use.

Last October, then-Mayor D. Michael Collins directed police to charge people under state law, a move he said allowed the city to shift to the county incarceration costs at the regional jail and the Lucas County Corrections Center.

Because of the policy change, Lucas County was billed for beds used by some inmates sentenced in Toledo Municipal Court from January through May.

But at the county’s request, the CCNO board amended its bylaws in May to codify the billing practice that had been in place for 25 years, essentially shifting the bed costs back to Toledo.

First Published October 21, 2015, 2:40 p.m.