PARIS — Oxford County’s legislative delegation met with county commissioners, representatives from the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office and jail administrative staff Tuesday to discuss options to close gaps in jail funding.

Since the state switched from a consolidated jail system, financial pressures have mounted for the county. Oxford County has all but depleted its $600,000 reserve account, according to County Administrator Scott Cole. This is mostly because of an arrangement with Cumberland County Jail to house inmates who need to be jailed for longer than the 72 hours.

Cole said the cost to send inmates to Cumberland County Jail in Portland is $50 per inmate per day. Budget pressures on jails across the state could force Cumberland County to more than double the fee to $108 per day.

Cole said such an increase would deplete even the Oxford Casino reserve the county has access to and force the county to transfer more of the cost to local taxpayers.

Another option is closing the jail altogether, but that creates a whole other set of problems, Cole said.

The Oxford County Jail in Paris can have up to 70 inmates who need housing at any given time, however the ideal jail capacity is just 21. The jail is only allowed to hold inmates for up to 72 hours; beyond that they need to be housed in full-time jails, such as in Cumberland County.

A memo from the Commissioners David Duguay of Byron, Steve Merrill of Norway and Timothy Turner of Buckfield to the legislative delegation said, “While statute continues to cap the jail tax levy and although the Legislature has allocated some state aid, that combined dollar total is well below what Oxford needs to operate its South Paris facility and simultaneously board inmates at Cumberland.”

The memo also stated, “. . . despite a statutory provision prohibiting counties from charging inmate boarding fees, that same piece of law also allows a receiving county to refuse inmates without cause.

“Such is our predicament. It is impossible to handle inmates at a lower cost. It is unlawful to increase property taxes to cover deficits. And, state funds have proven insufficient to bridge the gap.”

Commissioners asked the lawmakers to consider options for improving their situation at the legislative level. The lawmakers agreed that the situation Oxford County is facing with regards to its prisoners is dire, but asked the commissioners to come up with their three best-case scenarios for effective change to remedy the situation.

Cole said each county in the state is facing similar issues. He admitted that legislative changes regarding jail funding might benefit some more than others and that it would be difficult to find a solution that would work equitably for each county.

Rep. Kathleen Dillingham, R-Oxford, said she was concerned about keeping local control over the jails.

Commissioners agreed to present the best options to the delegation for a united front when the issue is raised in the next legislative session.

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