By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Starting Thursday, Toledo will be paying Wood County Justice Center $50,000 a month to save 25 beds at the jail for inmates from Toledo.
A deal was struck late Tuesday night, resulting in Toledo sending anyone being sentenced for misdemeanors under the municipal code to be housed at the Wood County jail, located on East Gypsy Lane Road, Bowling Green.
Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn, explained that Toledo officials turned south to this county for a solution to its inmate issues after an ongoing feud over charges to the city from the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio near Stryker.
The city of Toledo missed a July 1 deadline to pay a $1.3 million quarterly bill for its share of beds at the regional jail. By intentionally failing to pay the bill for 228 of the facility’s 638 beds, the city set the scene to withdraw from using the regional jail. The jail agreement reportedly stated 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.
“Toledo will pay up front,” Wasylyshyn said Wednesday. So when the first Toledo inmate arrives at Wood County’s jail, Toledo will turn over a $50,000 check. That amount will guarantee the city 25 beds at the jail for the month.
“I know they are going to pay it, because they are paying it in advance,” he said.
On top of the monthly $50,000, Toledo will also pay Wood County $65 per day for each inmate and a $40 booking fee per inmate. Toledo will also pay for transportation costs to the county jail.
“It’s a very good thing for Wood County,” Wasylyshyn said. “It’s a good thing for Toledo and for Lucas County,” since that county does not have room for the additional Toledo inmates.
“It’s a good thing for the citizens of Wood County, who I answer to,” Wasylyshyn said.
That’s because Wood County recently spent $3 million on a jail expansion, which included increasing the inmate beds from 149 to 224.
Based on the estimate of 25 inmates from Toledo a day, the county jail could bring in an extra $600,000 a year, Wasylyshyn said. That money will go into the county’s general fund, with some of the funds possibly paying for extra staffing costs that come along with the additional inmates.
The sheriff is also hoping that some of the additional funding will be used to help pay for a booking area and medical area expansion at the Wood County jail. “That’s a question for the commissioners,” he said.
