More state inmates being housed in county jails could help reduce the local burden of financing the construction of a new correction center in Barren County.

No bill has been filed that would allow county jails to hold more class C felons, but it was suggested recently by Sen. Julian Carroll, D-Frankfort.

Additional state inmates would lower the local costs of the jail, said Matt Mutter, acting jailer.

The state payments for those inmates would help to offset the costs of the local inmates, he said.

“The goal is to eventually have the jail break even, be self sufficient,” Mutter said. “We’d need more state inmates and a few federal inmates to do that.” 

The county is already examining the possibility of housing federal inmates in the new facility when it is completed because the federal government pays more, he said. Most of the federal inmates currently held in this area are incarcerated at the Warren County Regional Jail or the Grayson County Jail.

If Barren County could get 10, 15 or even 20 federal inmates it would help significantly, Mutter said.

At this time, the Barren County jail houses about 50 to 60 local inmates from Barren or surrounding counties. The jail has 119 beds and has an average daily population of 130 to 140 inmates, he said.

“The latest estimates I’ve received on the new jail are it will be 178 beds,” Mutter said.

It was already expected that Barren County would be able to house more state inmates helping it pay for the jail’s construction cost, said Judge-Executive Davie Greer.

“It will be a new jail and the state loves to put its inmates in a new jail,” she said.

The fiscal court’s recent decision to pass a referendum for a five cents per $100 increase in property tax to pay for jail construction shows the magistrates weren’t looking at options, Greer said. If passed the property taxes would increase by $50 per year for the owner of a $100,000 home. Although County Attorney Jeff Sharp has stated the magistrates had no authority to request a referendum.

Greer said she believes the county can pay for a new jail without raising taxes, even without the state allowing more class C inmates to be housed in county jails. If that is passed the number of state inmates will be large enough that the payments should not be an issue. Although that may have changed this week when Greer learned there had been some mistakes in financial schedules.

Hilliard Lyons will present fiscal court with a report soon that will show the county can afford to make the payments for a new jail, she said.

In the last year Barren County has spend more than $600,000 for repairs to the jail and in each of the last three years the county has spent more than $400,000 in repairs, Greer said. Those costs will be able to go toward paying for the new facility.

“Every sink and commode in the jail leaks,” she said. “For the first year at least everything will be guaranteed. If anything breaks someone will be coming to fix it without cost to the county.”

The county is calling for a plumber to come to the jail to fix some problem every day, Greer said.

“I don’t know how a bunch of grown men don’t understand that (a new jail would reduce high repair costs),” she said.

There was concern about early release programs lowering the number of state inmates, but that does not appear to be the case, Mutter said.

“The number of inmates doesn’t appear like it’s going to slow down in the near future,” he said. “Repeat offenders are what’s keeping us busy.” 

The state is going to have to house more inmates in county jails, Greer said.

“They’re paying way too much right now to keep them in private prisons,” she said.

The state pays counties about $32.50 to house class D and C felons, those sentenced to less than five years for generally non-violent crimes. Carroll suggested changing the law to allow other classifications of prisoners also to be housed.

Information from CNHI Kentucky state reporter Ronnie Ellis story contributed to this article.