Jerome Commissioners Sign Twin Falls County Jail Contract

JEROME, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) The Jerome County Jail is expected to obtain more inmates in its facilities after Jerome County Commissioners signed a contract with Twin Falls County on Monday to rent out bed space for its inmates.

There’s been a long debate after the commissioners had few options for jail contracts, which included U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, State Idaho Department of Corrections and U.S. Marshal Service.

Jerome Commissioner Cathy Roemer said the Twin Falls County and U.S. Marshal Service contracts were more favorable.

“(The) Idaho Department of Corrections did not quite pay the amount that the federal marshals will be paying or the Twin Falls County is going to pay per bed,” Roemer said.

Roemer said they held off on signing the contract with the U.S. Marshal Services.

“The prosecuting attorney has a little bit of language that he would like to see that it’s included in the contract,” Roemer said.

Roemer said the county is adding wording to the Marshal Service contract that would specify removal of a prisoner within a certain amount of time if the jail asks.

“Those words were not written in the original contract. It’s something of an understood, 'Yes, when you ask us to remove ... our prisoners, we will,'” Roemer said.

The U.S. Marshal Service contract is expected to be signed by the commissioners once the changes are made, and Roemer said they had weighed out all the options accordingly.

“We kind of put a hold on the ICE contract and making a decision until we could see what else came forward, “she said. “Other things came forward that are a much better fit for all the residents in our community including our staff at the jail and just the county as a whole.”

Twin Falls County will pay $58 a day per bed and U.S. Marshal Service $65. Roemer said it will help pay for operating expenses.