Wexford County is looking at building a larger jail for at least $12 million, and Commissioners say it is the top priority this year.
The county boards its overflow prisoners in neighboring counties, and the number of inmates is expected to rise gradually in coming years.
Mark Howie is a county commissioner who lives near Cadillac.
"Unfortunately, we're going to have to pay for the prisoners one way or another," says Howie. "We don't have the ability to say, I'm sorry, we're only going to spend half this much, so we can only have half as many prisoners."
Officials are awaiting a study to determine whether it can afford a new jail without asking taxpayers to vote on a bond issue. That information should be available next month.
The county has been strapped for cash and will stop funding its ice rink later this year for financial reasons. However, inmate overcrowding is forcing its hand on jail expansion, Howie says.
"We're spending that money right now, but we're spending it in Benzie County and Manistee County, to house our prisoners."