By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County Justice Center may have the key to Toledo’s inmate issues. That means the county jail in Bowling Green may soon be housing up to 25 people a day arrested in Toledo for misdemeanors.
According to Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn, Toledo officials turned south to this county after an ongoing feud over charges to the city from the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio near Stryker.
“They were looking at their options,” Wasylyshyn said on Saturday.
The sheriff said the Wood County jail could house at least 25 misdemeanor inmates for $65 a day, plus an initial booking fee. That is the same amount charged for overflow inmates from other neighboring counties.
“I told them I could easily handle 25,” Wasylyshyn said. “I didn’t want to over-count – so we have room for our inmates.”
However, the sheriff said that number from Toledo could possibly grow since the recently completed expansion of minimum security housing at the Wood County Justice Center has created the room for 224 inmates overall at the jail. As of last Friday, the county jail had 142 inmates.
Based on the low estimate of 25 inmates from Toledo a day, the county jail could bring in an extra $600,000 a year, Wasylyshyn said.
“It’s good for Wood County,” he said. “We have the bed space, so it’s a great thing for Wood County to get some of the money back that was spent on the expansion.”
Prior to the expansion, which was estimated at around $3 million and which included more than the inmate housing areas, the jail had 149 beds.
The deal with Wood County Justice Center may work for Toledo for a variety of reasons. First, the county jail on East Gypsy Lane Road in Bowling Green, is quite a bit closer to Toledo than Stryker, and costs less per day per inmate.
Second, the city is in the midst of a dispute with the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio and Lucas County over jail costs.
The city of Toledo reportedly missed a July 1 deadline to pay a $1.3 million quarterly bill for its share of beds at the jail. By intentionally failing to pay the bill for 228 of the facility’s 638 beds, the city may be setting the scene to withdraw from using the regional jail. The jail agreement reportedly states that entities that default on payments longer than 60 days will not be able to house inmates there.
Wasylyshyn said Toledo’s failure to pay the bill at Stryker does not worry him.
“No not at all,” he said, adding that Toledo will be required to pay monthly, rather than quarterly as at Stryker. “I’m not concerned about that.”
This latest move by Toledo officials came after the city won the most recent round in an ongoing battle against Lucas County over incarceration costs. Last month, a judge upheld the city’s charging policy that holds the county responsible for jail costs of defendants arrested by Toledo police.
The costs of individuals charged under state law with misdemeanors in Maumee, Oregon, and Sylvania municipal courts — but not Toledo Municipal Court — are reportedly already paid by Lucas County.
Once an agreement between Toledo and the Wood County Justice Center is drawn up, it must be approved by the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office before an ongoing inmate housing program can begin, Wasylyshyn said.
