By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
GREAT BEND — 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.