WASHINGTON - The jail in Washington County is full. It opened fewer than six months ago to replace an older and smaller jail. But the sheriff likes to see the cells filled with inmates. You might think turning away inmates means the jail and county are losing money. It is actually the opposite. The jail is like a packed restaurant turning away hungry customers.

The cement has not even dried at the Washington County Jail and already the building is too small. This is not a case of inmates stacked on top of one another. There is plenty of room to walk around. But the jail is filling up with inmates from other areas, namely Johnson County. Washington County Jail Administrator Mike Clark said, "We like to keep it as close to our capacity as we can with a little bit of room for our weekend arrests."

Washington County gets paid $55 a night for housing inmates from out of the area. In the last month the county earned $60,000 serving as a hotel for prisoners. Clark wants a 90-percent occupancy rate. It means the most possible money coming into the county. He said, “They want to generate as much money back to the county as they can and the easiest way to do that is keep the beds as close to capacity as possible."

This line of thinking will help bring in money to pay for the new five point one million dollar jail. And cover any hidden costs as construction continues.

The jail has already run into a little snag with keeping it full. Just this week the federal government needed to house 10 inmates, but the jail could only hold five. And the federal government pays more for housing than counties.

Email Steve Nicoles at Steve.Nicoles@kcrg.com