For the first time in 11 years, the number of Smith County inmates kept in custody outside the county dropped to zero.

Smith County Commissioners cheered when they heard the news Tuesday morning in their weekly jail activity report. The information came after the board approved paying the last set of bills associated with the construction of its jail expansion, which is awaiting state approval to open.

Construction on the voter-approved $35 million, six-story, 87,000-square-foot expansion of Smith County’s central jail is nearing completion. The expansion will add 384 high security beds and end inmate transfers to other counties, which has been required since 2004 to meet state inmate population standards. The expansion was approved by voters in 2011.

Sheriff Larry Smith said the county had an average number of 40 inmates kept outside the county’s borders in 2014, with a peak of 100. The county had a monthly average high of more than 334 in September 2006.

The current cost of housing an inmate out of county varies from $30 to $40 per day, depending on the contract facility, which does not include medical and transportation costs, Smith said.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Jeff Warr said this week was the first time in his memory that the county had zero inmates in any of its nine contracted counties. He estimated Smith County spent about $20 million over 11 years on housing the inmates out of county.

The opening of the new portions of the jail did not cause the decease, Warr said, because the county is awaiting a certificate of occupancy from the state before it can house prisoners there. The county is currently using the new booking area and infirmary, but the inmates will be housed in the older portions until the certificate is issued.

“We’ve all worked really hard on implementing new (practices) through the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee to reduce the number of people that need to be in jail, because that reduces the number of people you have to pay for …” Warr said, explaining practices that allow certain inmates to serve time without remaining in jail fulltime.

“If someone needs to be in jail, we want them in jail. If not, if they are people who can check themselves in (during) the evening and spend the night, but still keep a job — that benefits us all,” Warr said. “They are working, paying taxes and taking care of their kids.”

Smith said the courts have also been active in moving the cases through the system, and it has been fortunate that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has been readily accepting the county’s sentenced prisoners. 

Warr said with the freed up space, the county can take in more federal inmates and start taking in inmates from other counties. He said any added revenue will be added to the jail bond note, which is currently scheduled to be paid off in nine years.

“One of the biggest concerns when people went to vote … (in 2011) was it would be full the day we opened, and we will keep filling the jail,” Warr said. “We know at some point the jail will fill up, but hopefully it’s one of those things that will last for decades.”

As inmates start to move over into the new jail sections, the county will begin renovating the older portions and preparing it for rent.

Commissioners approved spending just less than $30,000 on the final set of bills, which include various inspections. County officials said all the necessary inspections are complete, and the opening of the new facility is dependent on the state completing paperwork for a certificate of occupancy.