Depending on who one talks to, the cost of keeping an inmate in Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset is anywhere from $90 per day to $180 per day. Jail services are one of the largest parts of the county budget, so keeping people out of jail is a significant cost-cutting maneuver.

For several years, TBRJ has accomplished this by contracting with Maine Pretrial Services, an organization that does supervision of inmates out on bail or on personal recognizance; that is, they have not put up a cash bail.  Maine Pretrial has a contract with the individual, and the person agrees to show up for court on time, and attend whatever specialized programs he or she is required to attend, from drug treatment programs to mandatory daily or weekly check-ins at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, to anger management or family therapy.

About one third of all those arrested are signed up with Maine Pretrial Services, and another third are supervised by the Sheriff’s Office. The remaining third, some of them arrested for very minor crimes, are held in jail until their trial.

County Commissioner Hamilton Meserve noted that with an average of 75 Lincoln County inmates in pretrial, at the cost of $100 per night at TBRJ, without diversion, the cost to house all these inmates would soar to $2.74 million per year. By contrast, the cost of diversion through Maine Pretrial Services is relatively small, at $56,832 annually, plus the cost of diverting the sheriff’s deputy who handles pretrial services for the Sheriff’s Office.

Elizabeth Simoni, executive director of Maine Pretrial Services, said her company supervises an inmate on average 92 days, however, there have been cases where it has taken years for a case to conclude. She said fewer than one percent of people fail to appear for court, so she doesn’t see the point of high cash bonds, which keep many people in jail who could be diverted. “Research has shown that cash bails and bonds will not reduce pretrial misconduct,” she said. She said when the failure to appear rate is so low, few if any people would find themselves back in jail for a failure to appear warrant.

She recommended against setting up a bail fund, for that reason, preferring to work with the courts to decrease the amount of bail set for most of the people who haven’t been diverted.

The commissioners also received a bid for one of the sheriff’s vehicles being sold after the new fleet came into service. The bid came from the Damariscotta Fire Department, for $6,051, and was accepted for the used SUV. Another SUV was transferred to Maintenance at no cost.

Katharine Martin-Savage announced her resignation from the Two Bridges Regional Jail Authority, and the commissioners received a letter on it at their Aug. 2 meeting. She will continue through the December Jail Authority meeting, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 14. Her replacement will be chosen in January.