BANGOR — The Penobscot County Jail could spend up to $1 million to board inmates at other jails because of overcrowding.
The jail cost the county over $537,000 in fees to pay for inmates to stay at other jails last year.
The Maine Department of Corrections has told county officials the Bangor jail must stop regularly exceeding its licensed capacity, which is 157 inmates, the Bangor Daily News reported on Monday.
Sheriff Troy Morton said there recently was an average of 175 inmates in the jail with about 55 inmates boarded at other facilities. Boarding fees can run between $45 and $65 per day for each inmate.
County commissioners budgeted $780,000 for this year, not including the cost of transporting inmates.
Corrections Commissioner Randall Liberty said Penobscot County’s situation “has certainly been the most chronic” compared to other Maine county jails.
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