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Salt Lake County OKs Plan To Send Away Inmates

corrections.utah.gov
Utah State Prison

Salt Lake County officials have approved a $700,000 plan to allow Sheriff Jim Winder to begin sending county inmates to other jails in the state to deal with issues of overcrowding.

The county council voted unanimously in favor of the plan on Tuesday.

Winder will now be able to pay about $50 for each inmate per day to house up to 300 inmates in other county jails starting in coming weeks.

The county's $700,000 offering is meant to last through July when $2.8 million in state funding becomes available.

County officials described the plan as a temporary fix for overcrowding at the Salt Lake County Jail.

Winder says it'll allow him to avoid a $9 million option to fully open Oxbow jail, which still needs several capital improvements.