Jefferson County, which once was shipping out 16 inmates from its jail daily, "outboarded" only 16 inmates during the entire month of April.
Inmate populations are so low this year that Jefferson County has made $33,210 by accepting prisoners from other counties that are struggling with overflow.
Jefferson County, which paid $481,587 for boarding costs last year, has paid $4,110 so far this year.
Legislator Michael J. Docteur, chairman of the jail ad hoc committee, said Tuesday that the county "has been in a very good cycle the last several months." But he added that the positive figures will not slow his committee's progress in finding solutions to alleviate jail crowding permanently.
"We're still very active," he told members of the Legislature's General Services Committee on Tuesday.
Mr. Docteur, R-Cape Vincent, is trying to schedule a meeting with Thomas Beilein, the incoming state Commission of Correction chairman, within the next month to discuss expansion plans.
"We want to make sure we're on the same page in terms of designing a new facility," he said.
County legislators still haven't agreed to expand the jail, although Mr. Docteur's committee has advocated for it. However, lawmakers have asked L. Robert Kimball & Associates, their jail consultant, to provide pricing and preliminary design for two scenarios: a 32-bed expansion and a two-phase, 64-bed expansion.
Mr. Docteur said he wants to secure, with the aid of Sheriff John P. Burns, a variance from Mr. Beilein to house more prisoners. The jail's capacity is now 160 inmates, although the state Commission of Correction limits that to 144 for health and safety reasons.
Mr. Docteur said he did not know why outboarding had dropped significantly since last fall, but he added that the jail population is subject to ebbs and flows. He does not expect the positive trend to continue.
In other committee news:
■ Lawmakers learned that the county, which receives $2.5 million annually from the state's Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program fund, will be given an additional $391,872 this year. The money is used to pave or perform surface repairs on county roads.
■ Legislators recommended selling the Black River Mine, a 4.6-acre property in LeRay. County officials said the Highway Department, which previously used the site as a gravel pit and staging area, has not used it for several years.
