If it becomes law, a new bill may help the Board of Corrections pay for Maine jails' debts, according to Lincoln County Administrator John O’Connell.

Over the past four years, county and regional jails in Maine have operated as a coordinated county correctional system.

Because state funds to help pay the debt on county and regional jails has fallen short, taxpayers, including those of Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties, have taken on the burden.

“The money is certainly needed in the system,” O’Connell said. “Hopefully some of that money will be used to help the counties with their debt service.”

Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties each paid nearly $1 million in 2012 in principal and interest in debt service for the Two Bridges Regional Jail. Somerset County paid $2.6 million and York paid $1.3 million.

Since the corrections' consolidation following legislation passed in 2007, property taxpayers in each county are still responsible for the debt payment on county jails that have been taken over by the Board of Corrections.

The bill (HP59 LD76) is sponsored by Rep. Mark Dion (D-Portland) and Rep. Jeff McCabe (D-Skowhegan). The bill proposes to appropriate and allocate to the BOC investment fund of $4.573 million for the 2013-2014 fiscal year and $4.743 million for fiscal for 2014-2015.

Dion is a former Cumberland County sheriff.

The bill was referred to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety and will be heard be Appropriations Committee before votes are taken in the Maine House and Maine Senate on the legislation.

Two Bridges Regional Jail Corrections Administrator Mark Westrum said he is hopeful the bill will be adopted.  Westrum also serves as BOC chairman.

“Because the previous administration and legislature failed to appropriate any dollars to create efficiencies in the county corrections system, the money will be used to create those efficiencies and to help counties who hold the most misplaced inmates with their inverse debt,” Westrum said.

Westrum also expressed concern that all inmates are not treated the same throughout the state.

Some inmates get pre-trial services, some don’t. Some get pre-release services, some don’t. “These are things we need to look at,” Westrum said.

The four flagship county jails are Two Bridges Regional Jail, and Somerset, York, and Cumberland jails; most are new facilities with    debt.

The debt service, which is paid by Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Somerset and York counties, in addition to the set caps they are required to raise from taxpayers, was $5.9 million.

Charlotte Boynton can be reached at 207-844-4632 or cboynton@wiscassetnewspaper.com.