WAYNESBORO, Tenn. -- Wayne County Sheriff Ric Wilson said it didn't take a math genius to realize the county needed to do something about offsetting expenses related to housing prisoners.

"Our jail is full (with 41 inmates), and we've got 14 more being held in jails in Hayward, Crockett and Marshall counties,'' Wilson said. "We're paying $35 per day to keep those prisoners, and that calculates to $178,850 per year.

"That's a lot of money for a department and a county on a tight budget like ours.''

With that in mind, Wilson started looking for ways to re-coup some of that expense. He found a solution through a couple of Tennessee state laws.

"Basically, the statue allows jails to charge a $5 bonding fee for anyone who bonds out of the jail,'' Wilson said. "Plus, it allows for the county to levy a housing fee. It would be like a user's fee and would be added to their fines and court costs.''

Working with the county attorney on a resolution and getting approval by the Wayne County Commission, county officials, on Jan. 16, began collecting a $5 bonding fee. In addition, a $35 fee is being charged to people charged with misdemeanor offenses for each 24-hour jail stay.

Wayne County Executive Jason Rich said money collected from the fees will-go into the county's general fund, which finances the jail and the sheriff's-department.

Rich said research conducted by Wilson revealed that Dickson County has already been collecting the fees.

"Our county attorney researched this and after listening to the proposal, the county commission approved it

Wilson said his jail budget is only $605,895, while the budget for the sheriff's department is $573,381.

He said the cost of transporting the prisoners back and forth to county facilities was one reason he started looking into another source of funding.

"We only had $60,000 set aside for transportation and that's already been used up through the first six months of the fiscal year,'' the sheriff said. "We had to look at alternatives.''

He said the bond fee is bringing in $60-$70 per weekend, and the county hasn't started seeing the proceeds from the jail fee.

"It may not sound like a lot of money for some, but when you're in a county that is scratching-for pennies, you do all you can,'' Wilson said.

Rich said housing prisoners is a major cost and he appreciates Wilson's forward thinking.

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757 or tom.smith@timesdaily.com.