Sheriff Bill Massee said at the present time, there are 4,400 state inmates sitting in county jails waiting to be processed into state correctional facilities. Housing those state prisoners is putting a strain on county resources and budgets.

Baldwin County Commission Chair Bobby Blizzard said that the number of state prisoners in the Baldwin County Jail is one of the factors that led the county to build a larger jail.

As Massee watches the state attempt to cut about $66 million from the DOC budget, he knows that county governments will have to pick up the slack.

Anytime there is a change or cutback at the state level, there is a negative effect on county governments, Massee said.

Massee points to closures of Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime labs and DOC detention and diversion centers as a sign of the economic times.

“This is the way I view state government in our lifetime,” Massee said. “It will never be like it used to be, counties will have to do more and more, and the state will do less and less.”