Courtesy Image The Alcona County Sheriff's Office logo.

HARRISVILLE — Alcona County may house its inmates elsewhere, the county Sheriff’s Office announced on Monday.

With few inmates in the county jail to validate the county’s cost to operate it, Alcona County Sheriff Scott Stephenson has entered talks with Alpena and Iosco counties about the potential for those counties’ jails to house Alcona County inmates and hire corrections officers who would lose their jobs if the Alcona County Jail closes.

The Alpena County Jail population currently stands in the low-60s, including Montmorency County inmates, according to Alpena County Sheriff Steven Kieliszewski. The county’s new jail — into which inmates cannot be moved until the county is able to hire more corrections officers — can house 108 inmates.

Alcona County has not established a timeline for a potential jail closure, nor is the jail’s closure definite, but Alcona County Undersheriff Keith Myers said the closure will “more than likely” happen.

Alcona County projects a cost of about $800,000, or about $2,200 per day, to operate the jail in 2022, according to Stephenson.

The jail operates with an average inmate population of eight to 10 inmates — sometimes dipping to as few as two inmates, Stephenson said.

Housing inmates elsewhere would cost $30 to $45 per day, making operating the jail with its current low population “not fiscally responsible,” Stephenson said.

The potential change comes on the heels of the closure of the Montmorency County Jail in July. Officials in that county said they could not justify the cost of operating the facility, which housed an average of 15 or fewer inmates, also at a cost of about $800,000 per year.

Job openings for correction officers in Alpena and Iosco counties provided partial incentive for the consideration of the Alcona County Jail’s closure sooner rather than later, Myers said.

The jail currently employs seven full-time and two part-time corrections officers. The jail administrator may remain employed with the Sheriff’s Office if the jail closes, according to Myers.

A jail closure will not result in any reduction in road patrol, and deputies will continue to respond to calls. The jail could still be used to hold arrested people for up to 72 hours, if necessary, Myers said.

The county has not yet determined a projected cost of transporting arrested people to jails in other counties or from those jails to court hearings. Many court hearings can be held via videoconference, minimizing to-and-from court transportation costs.

Stephenson met with county commissioners, court staff, and other Michigan sheriffs before deciding to explore alternatives to the jail’s current operation.

Court staff told Stephenson inmate population numbers will likely not increase in the foreseeable future because of recent legislative changes intended to reduce incarceration.

If Alcona County loses its jail, it will become the fifth county in the state ― after Montmorency County became the fourth ― to not have a jail, according to Matt Saxton, executive director of the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association.

To the best of his knowledge, no other jails in the state have closed recently or are in talks of doing so.

Statewide, jail populations went from an average of 18,000 inmates to 6,000 inmates in 2020, reduced by COVID-19-related restrictions and the new legislation.

As of April, the state jail population rebounded to 13,000 ― a number increasing alongside an uptick in violent crime around the state, Saxton said.

The Michigan Sheriffs’ Association advised Montmorency County officials during that jail’s closure. That decision took advantage of the county’s relatively close proximity to the Alpena County Jail and also provided income Alpena County can use to keep officers patrolling the roads, the executive director said.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jriddleX.