When the county commissioners refinanced a 2014 bond last month to save money on interest, the move also provided the opportunity to house more state and federal inmates at the Butler County Prison.

The bond's status changed from nontaxable, similar to nonprofit status, to taxable, meaning the county has free rein to earn revenue by housing more inmates at the jail who come from other counties or the federal system.

The jail has been housing a limited number of federal prisoners since 2012, but the federal system recently asked the county to house 100 inmates.

Warden Joe DeMore said at Tuesday morning's prison board meeting that the jail on South Washington Street now houses 298 inmates.

DeMore said 143 of those inmates are federal prisoners and three are from other counties.

Last month, the prison housed 40 federal inmates and three from other counties.

Sheriff Mike Slupe said the federal prisoners are not necessarily a bigger security risk than county inmates because they could be charged with white-collar or other nonviolent crimes.DeMore said federal inmates tend to behave to avoid the consequences associated with causing trouble.“The federal inmates know they are facing serious time, so they are focused on fighting their cases,” DeMore said.He said he avoids placing the federal inmates in with the jail's general population.DeMore said remote inmate accommodation in the county jail is highly sought after because of the facility's reputation.“The U.S. Marshals feel we are one of the better facilities and that's why they like to bring their prisoners to us,” he said.Leslie Osche, county commissioners chairwoman and prison board member, agreed.“This team comes with a wealth of experience that has been an asset to this county,” she said.Osche said housing more remote inmates will benefit the county coffers.“There is potential for an increase in that revenue stream,” she said.According to a financial report approved at the meeting, revenue from federal inmates was at its highest monthly total in November, at $145,000. Federal inmate revenue was $95,000 in January.DeMore said no additional guards have been hired to manage the increased number of inmates, and Slupe said no additional sheriff's deputies have been hired.“Inmates can be a risk,” DeMore said. “It doesn't matter where they're from.”

Regarding the potential for spreading COVID-19 in the jail, DeMore said the first positive inmate test since the coronavirus pandemic started in March occurred recently.“We're the only jail I'm aware of with no positive cases until last week,” he said. “Neighboring facilities have upward of 400 positive inmates.”Slupe pointed out that all inmates coming from other facilities must test negative for COVID-19 and are quarantined for 14 days in the county jail when they arrive.DeMore said in an abundance of caution, all new arrestees and inmates are quarantined for 14 days, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reduced its quarantine recommendation to seven to 10 days for those without symptoms.He said remote inmates are quarantined in a two-man cell, sometimes with another prisoner, in a different section of the jail from the local population.Regarding transportation to hearings for federal inmates or those from other counties, DeMore said hearings are largely taking place virtually.Beau Sneddon, assistant warden, said materials are beginning to arrive at the jail for the construction of four booths where inmates can attend virtual hearings or meet with their lawyers on laptops provided by the jail.DeMore said improvements are largely paid by the jail's commissary fund.He said the counties Butler has contracted with to house prisoners are Venango, Franklin and Armstrong.

Also at the meeting, the prison board approved an agreement with the state Department of Corrections to use the county jail as a parole violation drop location.DeMore said five to 10 inmates could be dropped off at the jail in the evening and picked up in the morning. Some could stay for up to 72 hours.The department would pay the jail $75 per inmate.Those inmates will be placed in a large holding cell in the jail's processing area, DeMore said.“We will run into some issues throughout this process with COVID-19,” he said.Wil White, county solicitor, said the key point is that the parole-violation inmates will not be housed with any other inmates in the jail.“The intent is to drop them off and, in the worst-case scenario, they would spend two to three days here,” he said. “The primary risk is basic medical care.”White said any basic medical treatment done in-house would be paid by the county.If any of the parole violators needed more serious treatment, jail officials would contact the Department of Corrections to then take the inmate to get medical care.The department would then reimburse the county for charges incurred in off-site treatment.DeMore said the agreement includes a maximum of 20 parole-violation prisoners at one time at the jail.“It bodes well for us that (the department) feels highly (confident) about the facility,” he said.Each of the inmates will receive a suicide and medical risk assessment when they arrive at the jail, DeMore said.According to the agreement, the county retains the right to reject any potential inmate.