WARREN — Trumbull County jail officials are working to establish a formal contract with Geauga County jail officials to house their inmates when the Trumbull jail is over capacity.

Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office Major David Bobby on Tuesday told commissioners that Trumbull’s jail has the capacity to hold 308 inmates. It now houses 350.

Geauga County is seeking $75 per day, per prisoner, plus any extraordinary medical costs. Last year, on June 30, the jail held 330 inmates. The jail held 240 prisoners on June 30, 2024. It held 220 prisoners on June 30, 2023.

“So, from 220 to 350, 130 additional inmates in a jail that only holds 308, it’s a lot.” Bobby said. “We’ve been talking to Geauga County because I know they have beds available and they are near us.”

Bobby noted that under the proposed agreement, Trumbull will not be required to send inmates to the Geauga County jail.

“We are agreeing on a cost, if we decide to send inmates there,” he said. “It is not a bad idea (to have an agreement), even if we don’t send inmates there for critical incident planning.”

Bobby began looking for a place to send inmates in the fall of 2025 because jail officials were worried one or both of the county’s two 30-year-old roof boilers might go out during the winter months.

Bobby contacted several county jails in Ohio to determine if they have space in their jails to house Trumbull’s inmates in case of some type of emergency. There were several available, but most were in southern Ohio.

Since that time, the county commissioners agreed to spend nearly $500,000 to replace the boilers.

County Commissioner Denny Malloy suggested that a letter or email signed by commissioners could be sent to judges asking them for alternative sentences.

“If they are sentencing up to 60% more people to the jail every two years, make them get ankle bracelets and have the prisoners pay for it and not the county,” he said.

Bobby said he has been sending every Monday morning a progress report to the judges on the number of inmates in the jail.

“They do know what the situation is,” he said. “We sent them a letter for them to be cognizant of who they are sending here (the jail).”

Bobby noted that he is concerned because, on average, the highest number of people in the jail is not in June, but in August or September.

“Our highest months have not hit yet,” he said. “We can expect up to 380 inmates in jail.”

Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Bill Danso noted that crime has not stopped or slowed down in Trumbull County.

“The opioid crisis may be over, but we have violent crime problems in the county,” Danso said.

He noted several years ago, state officials began a program called Trumbull Community Action Program, where county officials are trying not to overload the state prison system.

“They are trying to offload their costs and their problems to locals,” he said.

Commissioner Tony Bernard noted they should have an information meeting with state representatives to let them know what the counties are facing.

Commissioner Rick Hernandez noted he has been talking to a Mahoning County commissioner to lobby the state on this and other issues.

“We can travel to Columbus as a conglomeration of commissioners to discuss issues.

“Sooner, rather than later, we need to bring out state people here and let them know what we are facing,” Bernard said.