Funding options will be discussed next week for an expansion of Warren County Jail to enlarge the facility and add more beds to ease overcrowding.
Meeting on Monday, April 4, at 6:30 p.m. will be the county Safety Committee. Among items on the agenda is proposed jail expansion.
While the issue of overcrowding at the jail isn’t a new one, a discussion regarding pending expansion was held in December when County Executive Herschel Wells informed county Budget and Finance Committee members about the need to expand, as well as the need for additional staff.
“We will have to expand the jail,” said Wells. “Then, we have to add more staff. With the amount of inmates, we need more staff.”
According to jail inmate numbers, there were 315 inmates Thursday morning. One week ago, the jail had 330 inmates. The capacity of the jail is 251.
Commissioner Carl E. Bouldin asked about the addition of a courtroom at the jail. “Would we be better off to put a courtroom out there? I know transporting is a problem. It gets expensive and can be dangerous.”
“It would be nice,” said Wells. “I don’t know where we’d put it though. It would be wonderful if we could do that.”
If a resolution is approved by committee members, it must still obtain approval from the county Budget and Finance Committee, Financial Management Committee, and the full County Commission.