Commissioners address inmate expenses, again

​YORK COUNTY – During this past week’s York County Commissioners’ meeting, the issue of paying for inmate expenses, for people being detained at the York County Jail, were again addressed.

This conversation has been had many times in the last few years as the costs for caring for inmates continues to rise as the number of people being held in jail has increased.
“Medical cost for prisoners continues to be a big issue,” said Commissioner Stan Boehr, while they reviewed the claims.
“I talked with York County Sheriff’s Department about the dental bill and was told it was for five inmates,” said Commissioner Daniel Grotz. “It quickly adds up.”
When a person is in the county’s custody, it is the responsibility of the county to pay for their medical, dental and food costs. The county is also responsible for their legal fees if they are determined to be indigent.
“Again, it’s been a fairly significant amount of claims,” added Grotz. “We touched on the medical expenses and the court appointed counsel. I guess it’s all part of doing business and it costs a lot of money.”
In the last two weeks, the following were the expenses for county jail inmates (above and beyond lodging):

• Defense attorneys: $32,176
• Detention in other jurisdictions when there wasn’t room for people at the York County Jail: $1,200
• Medical: $8,657. Of that, $4,176 was for inmate dental work.