FARMINGTON — Franklin County prisoners are once again being housed at the Somerset County Jail, Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. said Tuesday.

County inmates housed in jails or prisons around the state, including Wiscassett and Windham, were brought to the jail in East Madison last week, Nichols said.

Somerset County Sheriff Barry DeLong stopped taking Franklin County inmates on March 26, 2013, over a dispute with the Maine Board of Corrections about payment for taking other counties’ inmates.

The Board of Corrections and Somerset County officials reached an agreement over the dispute and entered into a memorandum of understanding on April 15, Nichols said. That opened the opportunity for Franklin County inmates to again be housed at the Somerset jail, he said.

The inmates are closer than they were but not as close as Nichols would like to see them. He would prefer them to be at the Franklin County jail, he said.

He and others have been fighting to get the Franklin County jail back to full operation for more than a year. The state changed it to a 72-hour holding facility in July 2009 as part of the statewide county jail consolidation.

Though initiatives so far have failed, Franklin County representatives keep trying.

Franklin County commissioners voted 2-1 on April 15 to take a stand to have the Franklin County Detention Center removed from the Board of Corrections and put it back under Franklin County control.

Commissioners Fred Hardy of New Sharon and Clyde Barker of Strong voted in favor while Commissioner Gary McGrane of Jay opposed it. McGrane said it was because he did not want the entire jail system to fail.

The statewide consolidation effort has faced numerous funding challenges since its inception in 2009, including the possibility of not having enough money to pay for the fourth-quarter of this year.

A bill to give the Board of Corrections more control over county jails has won initial approval at the state Legislature.

It’s an 80-mile round trip to Somerset County Jail.

Nichols said transport officers have logged thousands of miles on the county’s vehicles over the past year to take inmates to other jails.

Franklin County raises $1.6 million each year to pay for the jail. It costs about $1 million to operate the jail and the rest is sent to the Board of Corrections to give to other jails around the state.

dperry@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link