FARMINGTON — A state inspector was expected at the Franklin County jail on Tuesday to make sure it is in good operational condition should the Maine Board of Corrections decide to reclassify it as a full-service jail.

The state changed the jail to a 72-hour holding facility on July 1, 2009, as part of then Gov. John Baldacci’s jail consolidation plan.

Ralph Nichols, state Department of Corrections director of operations, was also planning to review a staffing plan for the same reason during his visit to the Franklin County jail, Michael Tausek, executive director of the Board of Corrections, said Tuesday.

More staffing would be needed if the jail was reclassified. Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols told the county commissioners and members of the county’s Budget Advisory Committee on April 3 that three more corrections officers are needed to make three teams of three to oversee the jail and inmates. That does not include other necessary staff.

All of the information gathered during Ralph Nichols’ visit will be submitted in a report to a Board of Corrections group. That group will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 18, at the Marquardt Building in Augusta, to discuss the matter, Tausek said.

In the meantime, Franklin County commissioners have agreed to withhold the county’s second payment of $315,288 due in April for 2012-13 to the state Board of Corrections. Commissioners want to make sure the additional jail transportation costs incurred by having to take inmates to other jails around the state do not exceed the projected budget, Clerk Julie Magoon said Tuesday.

The county sends payments twice a year to the Board of Corrections for whatever amount exceeds the projected budget for the year, Magoon said. The commission has withheld the last payment in the past to make sure the jail’s operating expenses match up with the projected budget submitted to the state, she said.

County taxpayers raise $1.6 million for the jail annually, which is the cap developed in 2008 by the state for the consolidated jail system. This fiscal year, the county is scheduled to pay the state Board of Corrections $630,576. The first payment of $315,288 was sent in November 2012, county Treasurer Mary Frank said. The rest of the $1.6 million raised will be used to operate the jail.

Commissioners are also upset about the state withholding $284,442 for the third-quarter for Somerset County to board inmates from other counties, including Franklin County, she said.

Tausek said the Board of Corrections will be reviewing Franklin County commissioners’ withholding of the second payment with counsel. If it costs more to operate the jail than originally projected by the county, the Board of Corrections would have a supplemental payment sent to Franklin County.

Somerset County Sheriff Barry DeLong stopped taking inmates from other counties on March 26 due because the county was not being paid by the state, he said last week.

The state withheld the payment, according to Tausek, until the Board of Corrections finds out if it is legal for Somerset County officials to use the money it gets from the federal government to house federal prisoners to lower the county’s tax rate for property taxpayers in that county instead of sending it to the state.

To get their message across, Franklin County residents are planning a peaceful demonstration at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, in front of the Franklin County Courthouse in Farmington that they want their jail back.

[email protected]