Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Eppssaid state inmates would likely be returning to the Lincoln CountyJail soon.

“I’ve talked to Sheriff (Steve) Rushing and I believe we have anunderstanding,” Epps said. “I expect the jail will be allowed tohouse state inmates.”

Epps said he signed the paperwork Tuesday morning recommendingthe inmates’ return, but others, including Attorney General JimHood, must also approve it. Attorney Ron Welch, a federal prisonofficial with oversight authority on county jails, approved theinmates’ return last week.

“I’m glad we got it worked out,” Rushing said. “I’m lookingforward to getting them back here and back to work.”

The last of the state inmates were removed by MDOC Aug. 1 duringan investigation of former Sheriff Wiley Calcote, who allegedlyabused MDOC policies and procedures regarding jail passes. Thecharges were not pursued after Calcote resigned and pleaded guiltyto an embezzlement charge.

The removal of the state inmates ended a majority of communityservice work programs and cut funding for the jail.

Work crews commonly work with city and county officials removingdebris and litter from alongside the road, cleaning publicbuildings, growing vegetables in the jail garden and cooking mealsfor the jail’s occupants.

The county was previously authorized to house up to 40 stateinmates to man the work crews, Rushing said. However, the newguidelines will only allow 30.

“Mr. Welch suggested we may want to go with a smaller number,and when we were comfortable with that we could go back to the full40,” the sheriff said.

Rushing, the former captain of investigations, said he agreedwith the suggestion because his background in the sheriff’sdepartment did not include jail operations.

Rushing has been studying MDOC policies and procedures since hisappointment as sheriff a month ago. He praised Epps for thecommissioner’s help in teaching him the guidelines.

The change will not affect the number of work crews fielded bythe sheriff’s department, Rushing said.

“We were able to work it out with 30 by making a few changes,”he said. “Most of the litter crews are full crews, but some will beone man short. Those shorted may be filled by people performingcourt-ordered community service.”

Supervisors’ districts and government agencies who havebenefited from the work crews in the past through janitorial andgroundskeeping services will have the same amount of inmatesassigned to them as during the previous administration, Rushingsaid.

In-house services, such as the jail kitchen and courthouse, willalso return to previous levels. However, the sheriff said he isundecided on whether to continue with the jail garden.

“It’s off-season for the garden so I really haven’t made adecision on that,” Rushing said. “I’ve been more focused on gettingthe inmates back. I’m certainly going to keep the jail kitchengoing. It’s a big savings for the county.”

The return of state inmates will also have an impact on theeconomy of the county and the cost of jail operations.

Community services provided by the inmates have been estimatedto save the county more than $300,000 annually based on paying anhourly wage to the same number of employees during a 40-hourweek.

Chancery Clerk Tillmon Bishop said the county has managedwithout the inmates, but supervisors will certainly welcome theirreturn. In addition to inmates assisting county crews, they alsokept up the grounds of the courthouse. County crews have done thework in the inmates’ absence.

“We had to hire it out at least one time,” Bishop said. “It’s abig need for our supervisors. They really enjoy having the inmatesout to help clean up the county.”

The return will also restore a potential shortfall in the jail’soperating budget, Rushing said.

The sheriff could not cite budgeting numbers because the newfiscal year began Oct. 1, only a month after he was appointed, buthe said the new budget was not adjusted to account for the revenuegenerated by state reimbursement for housing its inmates.

“They were keeping it the same until we had the inmate situationresolved,” Rushing said.

The removal of state inmates from the Lincoln County Jail couldhave resulted in a funding shortfall of nearly 21 percent of thejail budget in a year’s time, according to County AdministratorDavid Fields.

Fields said MDOC reimbursed the county more than $121,600 forhousing state inmates in 2005. The total jail budget for the fiscalyear was just over $585,000.

Rushing said he feels confident the loss of the inmates for onlya few months can be offset through adjustments in the facility’soperating budget.