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Harvey County sheriff reports federal inmate revenue shortfall, highlights jail costs and staffing
Summary
Sheriff Gay told commissioners April 8 the county may face a roughly $300,000–$400,000 revenue shortfall this year because fewer federal inmates are being housed in the county jail; he outlined fixed costs — medical, food contracts, staffing — and said average post-sentencing holding time remains about 43 days.
Harvey County Sheriff’s Office officials told commissioners April 8 they expect a significant drop in revenue this fiscal year from housing federal inmates and described ongoing staffing and cost pressures at the county jail.
Sheriff Gay reported the county budgets revenue from federal inmates at roughly $700,000–$750,000 based on prior years’ occupancy but said current bookings suggest the county will be “probably between $300,000 and $400,000 short” of that projection this year. He said the U.S. Marshals and neighboring counties’ contracts (including a new contract in another county) have reduced the number of federal inmates routed to Harvey County. “We charge $85 a day for the feds to house inmates in our jail,” he said.
The sheriff said two large, largely fixed cost items drive the jail budget: the medical contract (budgeted at about $320,000 for 2026) and the food contract (about $212,000 last year). He noted the food contractor’s per-meal rate is approximately $1.90, and that the food contract contains minimum/adjustment provisions that can raise per-meal prices if average daily population falls below specified levels.
Operational details the sheriff provided included a reported average holding time of 43 days for inmates sentenced to the Department of Corrections who remain in the local jail pending transport, and a cost estimate of about $75 per day to house an inmate. He said last month the office pulled 71 cases, conducted 482 area checks and made 81 arrests; in March deputies drove just over 42,000 miles.
Sheriff Gay and jail captain Brian Huntley described search-warrant activity (six search warrants in the latest month, several of which were blood-draw warrants tied to suspected DUI refusals). The sheriff also described transport activity for inmates sent to the state Department of Corrections and said the jail had eight outside detention trips in the reporting period.
Commissioners asked whether reduced federal inmate revenue would produce savings on items such as food or staffing; the sheriff said the medical contract is largely fixed and “they have to come in regardless of how many inmates” for the nursing/medical contract, and that some costs (utility, overtime) may fall with lower population but fixed contracts limit the savings.
No formal action was taken on April 8; the sheriff asked the commission to note the projected shortfall as staff draft final budget numbers.
