POTEAU (KFSM) -- The Oklahoma Department of Corrections, citing budget cuts, sent a letter to the LeFlore County jail administrator on March 8. The letter states that the D.O.C. will no longer contract the LeFlore County Jail to house D.O.C. inmates.
According to the LeFlore County Sheriff Rob Seale, his county jail can house up to 186 inmates. He said 48 of the current inmates belong to the D.O.C. The D.O.C. pays the county to house their inmates.
"That's a little over $40,000 a month that the jail here in LeFlore County relies on for operating expenses," Seale said.
The LeFlore County Sheriff said he has contacted state legislators in hopes of finding a solution and he's also working with LeFlore County commissioners to make up for some of the budget loss.
The Sheriff said the contract termination letter was sent to 10 county jails across the state, including LeFlore County.
"There are some facilities that are smaller jails, that are even more reliant upon that money to operate than LeFlore County is. So, this could potentially force some closures of some detention facilities in the state of Oklahoma," Seale said.