Aug 26, 2010 By Jennifer Harr 3 min read

With a burgeoning population at the Fayette County Prison, the warden said there are 50 inmates being housed in other counties at a cost between $50 and $65 daily for each inmate. “This is a crisis. We’re $500,000 over budget,” said Fayette County Commissioner Chairman Vincent Zapotosky, a member of the county’s prison board.

As it stands, the county owes Greene and Westmoreland counties a total of $242,000 for inmate cell rentals, according to a memo sent to the commissioners by county manager Warren Hughes. An estimated $325,000 will be necessary for additional rentals, according to the memo.

The county budget allotted $40,000 for jail cell rentals. Commissioner Vincent A. Vicites, a prison board member, said that amount came from the previous three years, when cell rentals weren’t a common occurrence.

Currently, the county is housing 241 men and 27 women. An additional 50 inmates are being housed at Greene County Prison and 17 are at the Westmoreland County Prison, Warden Brian Miller said.

Greene County previously charged $45 per day, per inmate, but has raised its cost to $50. In Westmoreland County, Miller said the county pays $65 per day, per inmate.

To help offset costs, Miller said he is exploring policies adopted by other prisons that charge inmates a per-day fee during their imprisonment. He said he knows all of the inmates won’t pony up, but those who don’t would be turned into collection agencies.

In Westmoreland County, Miller said they charge inmates $10 a day, and last year, collected $452,000 for the county’s coffers.

In August 2009, Miller said the average population was 238.

This month has an average population of 335, he said.

The warden said he evaluated the inmates in prison, and found there were 84 who could qualify for intermediate punishment, based solely on the charges for which they were imprisoned.

Other considerations, such as the ability to pay for the probation-type program and having a home telephone, also are required.

“I know not all 84 are going to be eligible, but if 70 percent of them are, that reduces the out-of-county rentals,” Zapotosky said.

Board member District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr. said that at the last meeting of the county’s Criminal Justice Advisory Board, Chief Adult Probation Officer Lou Lozar said about 52 people were on intermediate punishment ordered by magisterial district judges.

“That’s a good number,” Heneks said.

Vicites urged the use of alternative punishments to cut down on overcrowding.

Heneks said that with funding flowing into Fayette County Drug and Alcohol, they can begin to provide inpatient services to inmates with addictions.

“If you get them into rehab, that’s going to be better for them anyway,” he said.

Vicites agreed, noting that treatment is the most effective way to keep people out of prison.

Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink, a board member, said that over the years, representatives of the courts and the various social service programs that work within the system all have been cooperative in trying to fashion alternative sentences.

“All of the parties concerned are working well together,” Zimmerlink said.