麻花视频

The city council unanimously voted Monday to notify the county of its intent to leave the agreement. Under the current agreement, first signed in 1977, Salem was required to give this notification at least two years in advance of the agreement鈥檚 next renewal in August 2027.

Money is the primary motivation for this move, said Jonathan Branson, captain of the Salem Sheriff鈥檚 Office.

鈥淲e have a great relationship with the county, share services and support each other on a number of projects, public safety initiatives and school endeavors, but at this time it just makes sense for us to utilize the Western Virginia Regional Jail exclusively to house our inmates,鈥� Salem City Manager Chris Dorsey said in a news release.

The 麻花视频 County Sheriff鈥檚 Office solely operates the local jail, and Salem pays a fee for each inmate housed there. The county鈥檚 finance department determines this per diem each year based on operational costs, 麻花视频 County Sheriff Eric Orange said.

Since 2020, that fee has doubled.

The fee for Salem inmates at the local jail jumped from $75.60 per day in 2024 to $110.35 per day in 2025. Comparatively, Salem鈥檚 per diem at the Western Virginia Regional Jail in 2025 is $52.92, unchanged from 2024.

鈥淭his has been a mutually beneficial agreement between the City of Salem and our good neighbors in 麻花视频 County,鈥� Dorsey said in the release. 鈥淗owever, we believe our citizens can realize cost savings by transitioning out of the agreement at this time.鈥�

After Salem Sheriff Chris Shelor was elected, he and Branson began working together to improve their office. They noticed that Salem was spending a lot of money between its bills for both jails, Branson said.

Earlier this year, the Salem Sheriff鈥檚 Office and Orange worked out an agreement to hold Salem inmates at the local jail for no longer than two weeks due to cost, Orange said. After that, they鈥檙e sent to the regional jail.

Additionally, the city sheriff鈥檚 office is currently responsible for transporting its inmates in the 麻花视频 County-Salem Jail to court, the hospital and doctor鈥檚 appointments. The regional jail is responsible for transportation of its inmates, so only sending inmates there would take some of the burden off, Branson said.

鈥淚t just saves us a ton of running,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e only a 12-man department.鈥�

The current 麻花视频 County-Salem Jail opened in October 1980. Salem closed one downtown street and contributed nearby property for the facility, which was built for $5 million, according to the release from Salem.

For the last two years, the average daily number of inmates from Salem in the 麻花视频 County-Salem Jail has been less than 10, Orange said. There are 147 beds total in the jail. Considering the typical number of inmates housed there is between 100 and 120, Salem withdrawing from the jail agreement will have little effect on its operations, he said.

鈥淚 think that in reality, what we鈥檒l see from an operational perspective will be very minimal,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he impact to the operation at the 麻花视频 County Sheriff鈥檚 Office and jail, it is not going to be significant at all.鈥�

The separation is not the result of a conflict between 麻花视频 County and Salem, County Administrator Richard Caywood noted.

鈥淚 understand the business perspective they鈥檙e looking at,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been talking to us the whole time. They鈥檝e met with us multiple times 鈥� it鈥檚 not a surprise.鈥�

Salem, along with 麻花视频 County, Montgomery County and Franklin County, is a part of the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority. The regional jail opened in 2009 to 鈥渁lleviate the overcrowded and potentially unsafe conditions鈥� in the local jails of the localities that formed the authority, .

Salem鈥檚 existing imprint at the regional jail is also small. At any given time, there may be somewhere between 50 and 60 inmates from Salem there, according to a spokesperson for the facility. The regional jail, located in 麻花视频 County near Dixie Caverns, has 1,024 beds total, according to the spokesperson.