BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PAINTSVILLE — The Big Sandy Regional Jail Authority elected new leadership Friday, while administrators reported persistent staffing shortages, heavy overtime and one of the facility’s strongest months for housing revenue.
Board member Billy Patrick of Martin County was named chairman, with fellow Martin County representative Bradford Preece selected as co-chairman.
Jail Administrator Byron Hansford told the board the facility has averaged 232 inmates in recent months and housed 224 inmates Friday.
Overtime hours remain a significant concern, he said. The payroll dated Dec. 24, 2025, included 575.59 overtime hours. For the pay period ending Jan. 7, 2026, overtime totaled 365.96 hours.
“We had one guy in the hospital from Dec. 10 to Jan. 2,” Hansford said. “So that’s two officers seven days a week, both of them working 12-hour shifts.”
Hansford said the jail is particularly short of female correctional officers.
“We’ve had six people; we normally have 11,” he said. “They’re all getting overtime, working them to death. We had some hired, but they did not stick. We got three hired today, and that will help some, but we need a couple more.”
The jail reported $260,591 in housing revenue for the month.
“One of the best months we’ve had,” Hansford said. “The state was over $100,000 this time.”
Revenue included $106,691 from the state, $53,528 from Johnson County, $35,322 from Lawrence County, $33,505 from Magoffin County, $30,598 from Martin County and $945 from Floyd County.
Treasurer Pam Burgess reported that the jail also collected about $9,000 in per diem fees in December.
“We’re doing better with that,” Hansford said.
He mentioned that the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) is advocating for major reforms to inmate housing during the 2026 legislative session, specifically targeting the $35.34 daily state per diem, which falls well below the $63.44 average daily cost counties incur to house state inmates. KACo proposes requiring the Department of Corrections to cover actual housing costs in exchange for mandatory rehabilitation programming.
“We’ve been averaging around $43 to $45,” said Hansford.