Loudoun jail posts highest costs for each inmate, each day

Loudoun’s cost per inmate day totaled $169.45 in 2008, according to the Commonwealth of Virginia Compensation Board. The average daily operating cost per inmate statewide was $65.97.

The Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center ranked sixth, at a cost of $116.04 per inmate day.

Both the cost of living and level of sophistication of the jail affect the per-day costs, according to a report presented to the county Board of Supervisors by ICMA Consulting Services. The age of the facility also can contribute, though age usually adds to inmate housing costs, according to ICMA. the report said.

“With Loudoun’s build dates of 2007 and 2010, further study of the reasons for the cost per day is recommended,” said the report, which analyzed potential cost savings for the sheriff’s office and fire department.

The two biggest expenses were personal services, at $132.29 per day, and medical services, which cost $13.44 per day. Personal services include salaries and benefits for jail employees. Food services accounted for $2.92 per inmate per day.

Still, Loudoun footed the bill for 78 percent of the costs of its jail — the highest share in the state. The county is planning to open Phase II of its jail in the summer of 2011.

The jail expansion, which would cost $3.5 million in the fiscal 2011 budget, survived a 5-4 vote during a recent budget work session held by the Board of Supervisors. The board voted to keep the funding, which would allow for the hiring of 25 deputies in July, 15 staff members in December and 17 deputies next April.

“Right now, we are sending more prisoners out of the county and housing them somewhere else than we are housing in the county,” said Supervisor Jim Burton, I-Blue Ridge, who voted in favor of keeping the scheduled opening on track. “That will only get worse.”

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