Taxpayers in Bertie and Martin counties are facing mounting costs following last week's nine-hour inmate takeover at the regional jail. The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction is charging Bertie-Martin Regional Detention Center $40 a day per prisoner to house them in state facilities. Those housing fees alone are adding up to more than $3,000 a day.
The emergency transfers were ordered by a court because the facility was deemed unsafe to occupy after inmates overpowered guards and took hostages.
State emergency orders mandating the temporary housing are in effect until August 2 and there is still no official timeline on when the local regional jail will be repaired enough to reopen.
