Fee proposal approved for Mahoning County jail inmates

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County commissioners approved a resolution this morning for a one-time $40 reception fee to be charged to convicted and sentenced county jail inmates beginning 30 days from now.

Sheriff Jerry Greene said the fee can be collected from inmates’ commissary funds, and he hopes it would amount to $40,000 to $60,000 in annual revenue. “We book between 6,500 and 8,000 [inmates] a year,” he said.

The fee was one of a series of revenue-generating proposals Greene made, including fees already established for bank foreclosures, criminal background checks and sex-offender registrations.

Greene, who assumed office Jan. 7, upon the retirement of Sheriff Randall Wellington, said he is working with the U.S. Marshal’s Service to reintroduce revenue-generating federal inmates to the county jail.

With new revenues, Greene said he hopes to have the main county jail fully open in late March or early April. Portions of that jail have been closed in recent years due to insufficient funding.

For the complete story, read Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com