Increased jail population drives up budget

Sheriff Todd Hood said an increase in the number of inmates has forced the higher budget.

WAMPSVILLE, N.Y. » An increase in the jail’s budget caught the attention of several supervisors at the Madison County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.

The board passed a resolution Tuesday increasing the jail’s budget by $100,000. The money will be taken out of the county’s contingency fund.

Sheriff Todd Hood said an increase in the number of inmates housed at the jail is to blame. The jail has been running at max capacity and sending inmates in excess of the county’s 127-person capacity to other jails. The cost of housing 11 inmates for two months at Oneida County jail was $30,000, Hood said.

Madison County has seen an increase in the number of drug-related arrests, the sheriff said. The jail has also had more female inmates than usual. While the jail holds 127 inmates, it’s only set up to house up to 30 female inmates, making it necessary to sometimes shuffle inmates between other facilities, Hood said.

There has also been an increase in the number of inmates that require medical attention. Those that need long-term medical care are sent to state-run facilities, he said. Hood anticipates that the extra funding will satisfy the jail’s budget through the end of the year.

Several other resolutions passed Tuesday OK’d additional funding for county projects or pushed the deadline for projects

back.

The county will pay an additional $104,000 to LeChase Construction Services for construction management services for the courthouse proj- ect for an added six and a half months of work. The county office building’s skylight replacement was projected to be complete by Sept. 30 but has been extended to Nov. 30. The July 13 completion date for Beebe Construction’s work at the newfire training facility will also be extended to Oct. 31.