County near contracted maximum of 100 state prisoners

BY KEVIN BONESKE

REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER

Within four months after resuming the housing of state prisoners at the Oneida County Jail, the county has come within two of the maximum 100 state inmates the jail is contracted to have, said sheriff Grady Hartman.

Hartman said Monday there were 98 state inmates being housed by the county out of the total jail population of 172. With the facility able to house around 200 inmates, he noted there remains room for the maximum number of state prisoners authorized in the contract, for which the county is receiving $51.46 per prisoner per day.

The housing of state inmates is an opportunity for the jail to bring in additional revenue at a profit, said Hartman, who estimated that 13 percent of the daily rate the county receives from the state, an average of about $6.69 per inmate per day, is spent on medical care and food for the prisoners.

He said he has also estimated it will cost another $80,000 annually for additional buildings and grounds expenses, such as for utilities and facility upkeep, to house the state prisoners at the jail, where the gross annual revenue for housing 100 state inmates throughout the year would be close to $1.9 million.

Hartman said the state inmates presently assigned to the jail – eight more arrived Monday with four no longer being held there – can be housed by the county for up to around 100 days before being rotated out.

The county jail, which also was able to house state inmates several years ago to relieve overcrowding in the state prison facilities, resumed housing those prisoners June 7 when 11 of them arrived. The county board this summer authorized an additional corrections officer position, provided there are at least 20 state prisoners being housed at the jail. That increased the total number of corrections officers on staff to 26 and restored a position that was cut in the 2016 budget.