Officials report 162 inmates and more than $1.05 million in out-of-county inmate revenue through June

County officials reported a jail population of 162 inmates and provided an update on revenue from housing out-of-county inmates, which a deputy said totaled $1,053,175 as of June 30.

At the meeting the county’s population report showed 162 inmates housed at the Lawrence County Jail. Officials said 23 inmates were out at other facilities for court or separation purposes, and the jail was housing 19 inmates from other counties. The report also noted 30 female inmates in custody; a speaker said 11 of those females were from Washington County and an unclear second jurisdiction referenced in the transcript.

Deputy Simmons provided the revenue update during the board update. "Current revenue from out of county inmates is 1,053,000 a $175 as of June 30 year," he said; he added that the current month’s revenue was not yet included and would be billed in July or August. He said the midyear revenue figure "puts us in the black."

Why it matters: Revenue from housing inmates from other counties is a significant line item for jail finances. The officials’ report suggests that, through June 30, receipts from out-of-county housing meaningfully offset costs for the facility.

Details and limitations: The county did not provide a full accounting of expenses or a net surplus figure. Officials said the current month’s revenue (July) had not been included in the presented total and would be billed later. The transcript contains some unclear place names for a subset of female inmates; the article reports those names as stated in the meeting where possible and notes where the transcript was ambiguous.

Next steps: Officials did not announce specific budget amendments tied to the revenue total at the meeting; finance staff will continue normal billing and will present additional figures in later updates.