ALFRED — York County Commissioners voted last week to bill York County Jail for its share of computer technology services ”“ but whether the county will see any money from the move is unclear.

The county has one individual it employs to deal with computer issues. County Manager Richard Brown said part of that worker’s time is spent solving technology problems at the jail, and he told commissioners, that represents about $30,000.

Sheriff Maurice Ouellette said the move could put him in an awkward position, because of the jail consolidation law and accompanying rules forged by the Board of Corrections.

At the request of commissioners, Ouellette recently included the county’s cost of preparing jail payroll in the jail budget, which he now sends to the state for approval as a result of the jail consolidation law forged a year ago. The budget came back from the Board of Corrections approved, but without that line item included.

“The sheriff gave it the college try and the state said no,” Brown said. “That $125,000 will come out of the hide of employees on the county side.”

Brown on Monday, however, indicated the state’s position might not be final.

“They disallowed it in the budget, but we, and a couple of other counties are trying to put it back in,” he said. “We’ll talk about it again.”

Since the jail consolidation bill that forged a partnership between the counties and the state corrections department was approved by legislators a year ago and recently amended, York County has been struggling financially. Brown said the county will have to close a budget gap of about $1.3 million in 2010.

The county recently learned it is able to use jail boarding fees it earns through Sept. 15 for general county purposes, but won’t be able to do so after that date.

The $1.3 million budget gap is a combination of about $932,000 in jail revenues, $250,000 or more for increases in medical insurance and $265,000 in wage increases.

Brown has argued that the jail not only receives $8.6 million annually through the consolidation bill, but will also receive boarding and other revenues of about $1 million going forward in 2010. As well, the county must also ante-up $1.9 million annually for the construction debt on the new jail, which opened in 2004.

“For us to vote on this is symbolic,” said Commissioner David Bowles, adding the vote sends a message to the Board of Corrections that items like payroll and computer technology are services the county provides and that the jail utilizes.

— Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.