Regional Jail Expects Financial Boost From Housing Other Counties’ Inmates

WISCASSET, Maine — Officials at the Two Bridges Regional Jail expect that the facility will cost the Lincoln/Sagadahoc Jail Authority more than $1 million less to operate during the 2007-2008 fiscal year because costs will be offset by housing inmates from other counties.


Total revenue from housing inmates from other counties is expected to be $1.4 million. It will be used to offset expenses for Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties, which forged an agreement to build the jail (see “Facility of the Month,” Correctional News January/February 2007).


If the proposed $6.3 million budget is passed, the cost to Lincoln County taxpayers this fiscal year will be $3.7 million, down from $4.2 million last year. Sagadahoc County taxpayers will pay about $3 million, down from $3.5 million last year.


The budget must be approved by the county commission in each county before it is passed.


In other news, the jail authority asked Sagadahoc County officials to investigate the purchase of additional property that borders the site of the jail, so the facility could have room to expand in the future.


Possible uses of the land include creating a women’s pre-release center to accommodate a rising female inmate population. The property was appraised at $342,000 and the owner has offered to sell it to the jail authority for about $300,000.