The Marshall County Commissioners approved an intergovernmental agreement to house inmates in Elkhart County.
Sheriff Matt Hassel said the jail population on Friday was at an all-time record high of 282 inmates.
“My chief jailer came to me and said, ‘We have two mattresses left and we’re going into the weekend.’ So, I sent him north of North Liberty to buy another 10 mattresses,” said Hassel.
As of Monday morning, Hassel said the inmate population was at 278.
Hassel said Elkhart County Sheriff Jeff Siegel doesn’t guarantee space, but the need is there.
“If I get a situation where they serve a bunch of search warrants, or a raid or something, and I have no place to put these people, if we have this agreement maybe he will have room for a short term to hold them.”
Hassel stressed that there was an additional appropriation approved by the county council to fund the additional housing at a cost of $40 per day per inmate at the Elkhart County Jail. Those who are serving sentences would be housed in Elkhart County.
Commission President Kevin Overmyer asked why the agreement wasn’t signed already. County Attorney Jim Clevenger reminded the commissioners that they thought the population number may decrease, but that’s not the case.
With that, the commissioners approved the document as presented.
