Marshall County Sheriff Matt Hassel presented the commissioners with an intergovernmental agreement with Elkhart County in order to house inmates at the Elkhart County Jail.
He told the commissioners Monday morning that the rate has increased from previous negotiations.
“They will house them for us for $60 a day,” stated Hassel. “I know we had a better rate when we were first negotiating, but if you’ll look on the commissioner who was absent, Brad Rogers, he’s a former sheriff. He knows what it costs to house an inmate. I’m sure he was instrumental in raising the rate.”
He asked that the commissioners approve the agreement in case it is needed. He noted the new Elkhart County Jail should be complete this fall and there will be plenty of room to house inmates from other jurisdictions.
County Attorney Jim Clevenger commented that he prompted the agreement as it shows an effort being made to take steps to deter an overcrowding issue.
Commissioner Michael Burroughs asked what the current population was at the jail Monday morning and Hassel replied it was at 183. The 80 percent overcrowding threshold is at 187.
The commissioners unanimously approved the agreement.
Additionally, Commissioner Stan Klotz said he talked to Senator Ryan Mishler, Senator Stacey Donato and Representative Jack Jordan about the Department of Corrections’ delay in accepting inmates from Marshall County who have been sentenced to the DOC, along with local housing of DOC inmates at a rate of only $40 a day. He said that conversation prompted action as several Marshall County inmates were recently transported out of the Marshall County Jail to the DOC. Klotz publicly thanked the state officials for their assistance to the county.
