Chatham County commissioners this morning approved spending about $177,000 a year to fund an additional three deputies to transport federal inmates.
The cost of the deputies will be covered by federal reimbursements as part of a contract to house U.S. Marshals Service inmates, said Sheriff Al St Lawrence.
Chatham will be paid $70 per inmate under the contract, in addition to the reimbursements. St Lawrence said the deal to house up to 150 inmates has the potential to raise about $3.8 million.
In other news, commissioners removed from the agenda the sheriff's request to purchase 34 televisions for the expanded jail using $18,000 in sales tax funds. St Lawrence said the purchase request was mistakenly put on the agenda. The televisions, which are used as a management tool, will be paid for by the inmates trust fund, as they have always been, St Lawrence said.
For more on this story and other commission actions, check Savannahnow.com or Saturday's edition of the Savannah Morning News.