Miami County’s Incarceration Facility (IF) likely will be opening its doors to federal prisoners with anticipated approval of an agreement between the county and the U.S. Marshals Service to house up to 20 men and women at the facility between Troy and Piqua.

 

Sheriff Dave Duchak said details are being finalized on an agreement for the return of the federal business with the county after a break of about 10 years. The IF houses federal prisoners for several years after it opened in 2000 until its closing in 2009 because of county budget cuts during the recession.

 

The facility was built with the goal of using one half of its four, 60-person pods to house local prisoners and to rent the other half to help offset facility operating costs. The sheriff’s office reopened one of the pods in 2013, followed by one each in 2014 and 2017. The 2017 reopening was of a pod for females.

 

The county now has contracts to house prisoners from Darke County, Greenville and Pike County. Those jurisdictions are using up to 10 beds a day.

 

The proposed federal prisoners’ agreement would be for up to 15 men and five women. The county would be paid $59 a day per prisoner and also would be paid to transport the prisoners.

 

The offenders would be at the IF, not the downtown Troy jail. Duchak said the prisoners would be those classified as nonviolent and face financial and similar charges.

 

County Commission President John “Bud” O’Brien said the commissioners support the bed rentals.

 

“We haven’t seen the contract yet, but are looking forward to seeing it,” he said. 

 

Duchak said he is willing to rent jail beds – the effort brought in around $100,000 last year – as long as there is room.

 

“I don’t have a problem renting out beds as long as it doesn’t hurt our judges’ ability to incarcerate,” he said. 

 

The current staff of 53 correction officers can handle the prisoners for the three pods and the downtown jail’s population, Duchak said. If the fourth pod at the IF would be needed, the office would need to hire six more correction officers, a process that takes months, he said