McHenry County jail expects to bring in more than $500K for first 2 months of housing Lake County inmates

McHenry County expects to receive more than $521,000 from the first two months of an agreement to house up to 150 inmates from Lake County in the McHenry County Jail.

The average daily population of Lake County inmates in McHenry County jail was about 102 in January, the first month of the arrangement, but that climbed in February to 150, the maximum allowed, according to county documents. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office began transferring inmates to McHenry County Jail shortly after the new year, following an agreement the McHenry County Board approved in November to help Lake County cope with staffing shortages.

Lake County pays McHenry County $100 per inmate daily as part of the contract, but McHenry County remains on the hook for expenses such as health care, food and transportation, which county officials estimate are about $31 per day per inmate. “It’s very fluid,” McHenry County Chief Financial Officer Kerri Wisz said of the expenses.

During a McHenry County Board finance committee meeting Thursday, Chair Michael Skala asked about fixed costs related to the contract. McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Business Manager Sandra Salgado said there were fixed expenses such as uniforms and mattress pads. Wisz said those weren’t factored into the expenses the county pays on the contract since those will be used no matter how many Lake County Jail inmates are housed in McHenry County Jail.

Board member Kelli Wegener asked whether the sheriff’s office has had to increase staff work hours because of the contract. Salgado said the sheriff’s office can’t “contractually” raise the hours worked, but “overtime has been pretty steady.” McHenry County Administrator Peter Austin said personnel costs increased in January, but that was more tied to “year-end payouts” than it was to the contract.

Wegener also asked how soon Lake County will get the staffing it needs. Salgado said it takes McHenry County about four to five months to onboard someone and she anticipates the Lake County Board will keep funding the contract through the end of the year. Lake County Sheriff’s spokesman Chris Covelli said the arrangement with McHenry County has helped Lake County alleviate concerns with staffing and that agency is “working diligently” to fill vacancies.