Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. — A new 400-inmate jail built in Tumwater at a cost of $48 million to relieve an overcrowded jail in Thurston County has sat empty since it was finished four years ago.
It’s costing the county $400,000 a year to maintain what it calls the Accountability and Restitution Center, but there are no plans to move in.
The Olympian reports there’s a funding dispute between county commissioners and Sheriff John Snaza.
The commissioners say they put enough money in the budget to open the jail. Snaza says his overall budget isn’t large enough to absorb the increased costs.