BELFAST, Maine — For nearly a decade, Waldo County has paid the Maine Board of Corrections about $900,000 every year to feed, house and care for the county’s prisoners, most of whom are sent two counties away to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.
But with future state funding for jails still unresolved by legislators — who last month voted in favor of a bill that would return the control of county jails to the counties — Waldo County Commissioner Bill Shorey said that he and the other commissioners decided to take a proactive approach. For the 2015-2016 fiscal year, Waldo County will pay $1.2 million directly to Two Bridges Regional Jail, a facility that on average houses 44.5 Waldo County inmates per day.
“We’re very satisfied with Two Bridges,” he said. “It’s a nice facility. They’re nice people to do business with.”
Waldo County is going to pay about $300,000 more for the care of its inmates than it has since at least 2007, when the control of county jails was consolidated through a unified state Board of Corrections. But the sum ought to reflect a more honest accounting of what it costs to feed and house jail inmates, Shorey said, adding that the state was paying $24 per day. The actual per day price is likely more than $50, he said.
“We decided to negotiate for a blanket price,” he said. “We’re happy with the deal we’ve made.”
Efforts to reach a Two Bridges Regional Jail Authority official for comment were not immediately successful Thursday.
Waldo County will continue to pay the transportation costs associated with sending its inmates 53 miles south to Two Bridges Regional Jail, Shorey said. The jail will cover medical expenses in addition to the inmates’ board, according to terms of the agreement.
Shorey said that the agreement with the jail will be finalized if or when LD 186, the bill that would dissolve the Board of Corrections and return operations of the jails to the counties, becomes law.