Brown County inmates fill Butler County’s jail and coffers

The sudden closing of the Brown County Adult Detention Center on Thursday could put an extra $100,000 in the Butler County Sheriff’s coffers by the end of the year.

Problems with the locking devices on some of the cell doors at Brown County’s jail forced officials there to officially close the facility Thursday. That decision was made following an emergency meeting between the Brown County Board of Commissioners and Brown County Prosecutor Jessica Little.

“If you cannot secure a jail, you cannot have a jail,” said Commissioner Barry Woodruff.

As a result, Brown County’s entire jail population — 93 inmates — were transported to the Butler County Jail, according to Brown County Sheriff’s Office Detective Buddy Moore and Butler County Sheriff Chief Deputy Anthony Dwyer. Brown County will have to compensate Butler County for housing the inmates.

“It’s gonna be expensive,” Moore told our news partner WCPO 9 On Your Side.

Sixty dollars per inmate, per day to be exact. That’s roughly $5,500 a day and could add up to as much as $100,000 by year’s end.

“We were told they could be here through the end of the year and possibly into next year,” Dwyer said. “It will be profitable for the county.”

Butler County has an 864-bed jail, which opened in 2002, and a facility on Second Street in Hamilton that is maintained for overflow. Sheriff Richard Jones said the ability to be flexible in the jail “business” is what allows him to offset his budget — which was proposed at $33 million for 2016 — with revenue from contract prisoners.

“It helps them out and helps us out,” Jones said.

The Butler County Jail is projected to bring in about $5 million this year, but it has brought in as much as $6 million to $7 million when outside contracts were more robust. Jones estimated the county jail had 300 contract prisoners from other counties and the federal court system inside as of Friday.

Dwyer said Brown County has had a contract with Butler County for years to house some prisoners. He said word about housing Brown County’s entire jail population came just a few days after officials there brought some female prisoners to the Butler County Jail on Nov. 9.

Dwyer said the two counties had previously negotiated a contract for housing prisoners at a rate of $60 per day. It can cost other out-of-county agencies as much as $70 a day to house prisoners at the Butler County Jail, he said.

Brown County’s prisoners are currently housed in one pod of the jail, but that may change in time after they are assessed. Thus far, Butler County has not hired any additional personnel to guard the out-of-county prisoners, but that could change if they are not able to cost effectively manage with overtime and part-time corrections officers.

Butler County Jail staff worked all day booking in the the Brown County prisoners who were brought from that county, which is about an hour and a half away, in two trips.

“I can’t say enough about the professionalism of this staff,” Dwyer said of his personnel.

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