PARIS – Jail officials say a proposal to change the Oxford County Jail to a 72-hour holding facility could result in savings but also layoffs.

State and county officials are considering changing the jail function to only holding people in the first three days after their arrest. The jail is rated to hold 44 inmates and houses people who are unable to make bail, prisoners sentenced to misdemeanor crimes or prisoners ordered to serve nine months or less in jail.

Sheriff Wayne Gallant said the proposal, which is still under negotiation, is an improvement over a prior state consolidation plan that would have closed the Oxford County Jail.

“I’m optimistic that it’s eventually going to work,” Gallant said. “I’m disappointed that we’re going to lose some people out of this.”

Gallant said a 72-hour holding facility would retain most of the jobs and have no major impact on local police departments. A final decision on how each of the state’s jails will operate is expected next month.

According to state figures, 80 percent of the pretrial admissions to the jail were released within 72 hours and would represent an average daily population of four inmates. People unable to make bail within that time or sentenced for crimes would be transported to jails in Androscoggin and Cumberland counties.

Changes to the operation of the jail would include reducing kitchen services and catering meals; doing away with outfits for inmates; and cutting medical costs.

Capt. Ernest Martin, the jail administrator, said there could be a potential savings of $160,000 to $200,000 between medical and food costs.

Some costs would increase, including transporting inmates and funding a full-time pretrial case worker.

Gallant said he believes a 72-hour facility would come in under the state cap of $1.2 million.

However, officials say the plan has some downsides as well, notably the potential loss of jobs. The jail currently has 20 full-time staff positions, of which three open positions have been frozen. The plan for the 72-hour facility would reduce the staff to 14 and necessitate the layoffs of three existing staff.

“I don’t think anybody wants to see those casualties,” Martin said.

In addition, the facility could shift some costs to other departments. Gallant said the loss of jail trustees – these are prisoners who do maintenance work at the county and elsewhere to earn time off their sentences – could increase costs in the county budget.

Gallant said the state and county would like to pursue video arraignments for pretrial inmates who would be housed in other counties, but travel expenses for attorneys could put higher costs on the judicial budget.

“This is going to have an adverse effect on our local defense attorneys,” Gallant said. “They won’t have access to their clients like they did in the past.”

Judy Haas, assistant county administrator, said she has worked with county officials to put together a jail budget for the first six months of this year and the next two fiscal years. She said in addition to the initial request and a budget for a 72-hour facility, the state has asked her to prepare a budget with no increase from the $1.2 million cap.

Haas said at a meeting on Friday between state and county officials, the county proposed an appropriation for a full-time maintenance person to supplement the 14-person jail staff.