The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to address the issue within the next few weeks. The fact that there is no way to predict medical costs from year to year adds to the difficulties in budgeting for prisoner expense. Costs are simply dependent on the health of the inmates. McCracken County's jail traditionally has few AIDS inmates, usually one or two a year, he said. Besides local property tax, the jail does receive state funding for housing state prisoners.
Inmates are exempt from the daily fee if they work in or outside the jail.
The daily fee is collected when inmates are released from jail unless they are sent on to prison. The jail usually has about 120 state prisoners. Last Wednesday, there were 93 state prisoners, including those waiting to go to the state penitentiary and 60 Class D felons serving five years or less at the county jail. The Class D felons help offset some of the medical costs since they are able to work outside the jail doing yard work, picking up trash and doing other government-related jobs like helping with the renovation at the new Child Watch center on Jefferson Street. The county and the city of Paducah benefit from their work.