The Androscoggin County Jail is in need of more state funding to prevent further burdens on local taxpayers and resources, county leaders say.

County Administrator Jeff Chute wrote a letter to members of the state Legislature on behalf of the county and commissioners to emphasize “the urgent need for increased sustainable state funding” for the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn.

“The financial pressures we face in Androscoggin County due to the jail funding are real, growing and increasingly unattainable,” Chute, a former jail administrator, wrote.

The key financial realities are that the “Androscoggin County Jail’s lack of state funding is forcing the county to carry a budget deficit of $1.2 million,” he wrote. “The costs are related to overcrowding, operational costs, increased contract costs, and inmate boarding. Each year the county must cover a significant shortfall just to maintain basic operations.”

Several of the state’s 15 county jails are facing similar issues.

Chute and other county and jail leaders are hoping to get more money for the jails as the Legislature tackles the state’s supplemental budget.

It cost $140 million a year to run the state’s 15 county jails, according to Somerset County Administrator Tim Curtis, a member of the county corrections council.

More than half of Maine’s county jails are in buildings constructed more than 100 years ago.

The sheriffs of Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties are talking about exploring the feasibility of constructing a regional jail for all three counties. Androscoggin and Franklin counties’ commissioners have approved funding a consultant to research whether a regional jail is feasible. Oxford County commissioners have set aside $40,000 for their share of a consultant, but have not agreed to move forward on the proposal.

The total county jail system’s average daily population has risen 22% in the past five years, according to the council’s report. It went from 1,364 in 2021 to 1,660 in 2025.

The state’s Jail Operations Fund has remained at $20,340,104 since fiscal year 2023.

The state’s contribution to the Androscoggin County Jail “has remained mostly flat for at least four years,” according to Chute’s letter. “Unfunded mandates from new jail standards, additional training requirements, and new laws are creating a significant strain on county resources.”

The jail is rated at 160 beds but routinely houses over 200 inmates, with several inmates being boarded at other facilities.

“Due to overcrowding, we are required by Maine Jail Standards to board inmates in other county jails. In the 2026, we project an additional $700,000 for boarding costs alone,” Chute wrote. “State facilities continue to accept state sentenced inmates, on one or two days per week burdening overcrowded jails to house these prisoners.”

The council is asking lawmakers to budget $28.3 million for the state Jail Operations Fund starting July 1, plus any additional amount the Legislature may appropriate. The council is requesting the amount be adjusted annually by 4%.

In addition, for community corrections programs and a pretrial release program the council is asking for $5 million to be provided annually to the county jails and regional jail.

“To cover our end-of-year deficit, the county commission continues to tap our undesignated fund balance,” Chute wrote in the letter. “This is not a sustainable long-term strategy; our reserves are being drained to fill a structural funding gap created by the state.”

The 2026 Androscoggin County budget is $23.7 million, with $11.3 million allocated to the jail, according to Chute.

After accounting for anticipated revenue, the county must raise $17.1 million via property taxes, representing a 12.5% increase over current levels, Chute wrote.

“A substantial portion of this tax increase directly supports the underfunded jail system,” Chute wrote.

The letter from Chute and commissioners asks that the state consider a funding formula that scales with county jail expenditures, including boarding costs, so counties are not penalized while relying on other facilities.

“As someone who has operated a jail and now oversees county governance, I can say with confidence that Androscoggin County is doing everything within its means,” Chute wrote. “Yet the current model forces us to burn through reserves and raise property taxes, all problematic for the citizens we serve.”

The Maine County Corrections Professional Standards Council will go before the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Room 436 at the State House in Augusta to discuss the need for more state funding for county jails.

The Legislature asked the council in 2025 to review the status of county and regional jails in regard to state funding, including compliance with certain statutory and audit requirements, unfunded mandates related to county and regional jails, and future needs. The council will review its now-completed report with the committee Wednesday.