MECHANICSBURG - A spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections (DOC) had little to say about a bill Northumberland County officials want them to pay for housing eight inmates at Northumberland County Prison for nearly a month.
Susan McNaughton said Tuesday she was unable to locate any information regarding the $13,392 invoice from the county but that, "we're looking into it now, and we'll work with the county."
County Commissioner Stephen Bridy, who chairs the prison board, sent the invoice Tuesday, July 23, because he thought the state was taking advantage of the county.
Bridy said Monday he hadn't heard anything back from DOC because his contact was on vacation until next week. He wasn't planning to call again until Monday.
The inmates, who have been sentenced to state time, were housed at the county from June 26 until the day he sent the invoice. Bridy says it costs the county $62 a day to house a prisoner.
Once the courts sentence an inmate to the state system, county prison officials process the paperwork, but the state must accept it. Then the sheriff's office schedules a dropoff date, which could be between one to three weeks after the request, Warden Roy Johnson has said.
Earlier this month, at least 33 of the county prison's 240 inmates were supposed to be in state custody, Bridy said.
Bridy and the board will be sending letters to state Reps. Lynda Schlegel Culver (R-108) and Kurt Masser (R-107) to ask for intervention in the transfer process.
He noted that when two county prisoners were housed at a state prison during the Flood of 2011, the county was billed by DOC.