By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
It seems like the cost of everything is going up and that is no different
at the Barton County Sheriff’s Office. To offset jail costs, the sheriff’s
office is increasing their fees to house other law enforcement’s prisoners.
Currently, the City of Great Bend is charged $17.50 per day for each inmate the
city has jailed through the sheriff’s office.
Great Bend City Administrator
Kendal Francis said the city was notified the price to hold their prisoners at
the county jail will increase to $35 per day starting Sept. 1.
"That can be a pretty significant expense depending on how things shake out," said Francis. "We made some adjustments in the budget to account for that. We're looking at other ways to help curtail that. That is something we'll be watching closely over the course of the next year."
Prisoner care was budgeted for $33,745 out the of the Great Bend Police
Department’s budget in 2021. The proposed 2023 budget calls for $70,000 in
prisoner care.
Any out-of-county prisoners housed at the Barton County Detention Center will
cost those counties $50 per inmate each day. Municipalities within Barton
County will be charged $35.
Unless waiting trial or sentencing, no prisoner can stay in the county jail
longer than a year. While in prison, the sheriff’s office has to pay for each
prisoner’s food, medical expenses, laundry, utilities, etc.
Sheriff Brian Bellendir said, on average, there are 85 inmates incarcerated
inside the jail on a daily basis. Of those 85, the City of Great Bend usually
has around 10 prisoners.