Out-of-county inmates outnumber those arrested locally at Fulton County Jail

Of those currently booked at the Fulton County Jail, more than half were not brought in on local charges or warrants.

The jail, with a capacity of 230, housed 137 inmates as of Friday — 89 of whom were being held for either other counties or the U.S. Marshals Service. Fifty were held for Grant County, 34 for Howard County and five were federal inmates, carrying a higher per diem rate than out-of-county inmates and generating more revenue for the county.

The county saw it's largest return for holding such inmates in May, with an invoice total of more than $95,000 for the month. Revenue generated is split into three separate funds by percentage — 70 to debt reduction from jail construction and 15 each to jail maintenance and operations.

"For the current population of Fulton County and the current jail population, I would certainly say it is too big, currently," Fulton County Sheriff Travis Heishman said. However, he added, "Building something like this has to serve the citizens of Fulton County for decades. If you look at the previous jail that was built in 1985, they built for the needs of the day, not looking at what the future needs may be. I have no doubt with the size and layout of our detention center, this will serve Fulton County well for many, many years."

Funds for holding out-of-county inmates have recently been tapped for the construction of a maintenance building on the jail's property and the purchase of a transport van. 

"This is a definite win-win for the citizens of Fulton County," Heishman said. "Grant and Howard counties are responsible for transporting their own inmates and paying for medical treatment. Sure, we use a little more water and electricity, but the only hard-costs the county incurs housing these inmates is meals, which is less than $2.40 a meal.

"Those beds are there. If we don't do it, they're just going to sit empty," he added. "It requires the same amount of staff whether it's our 40 inmates, or whether it's 90 inmates from other counties. Our matron, jail leadership, and detention staff have accepted the challenge and are handling it with no increase in staffing."