LaGRANGE – The Troup County Correctional Institute will not wave farewell to its last inmate at the end of this month, but due to transfers out, the Troup County Work Release program is down to only a handful of inmates for the entire county.

Meanwhile the Sheriff’s Work Release program is still in its early stages, so local governments are looking for solutions to the day to day needs of the municipalities.

“We had promised them six inmates from the sheriff’s work program that they can use,” County Manager Tod Tentler said. “We are going to send them four there right now because we are still in the transition stage, and they have said that they would like to contract with the county so that they’ll pay for the guard if we’ll let the guard bring those inmates to them and take them back every day and work them.”

The cost of the guard would be approximately $45,868 and would be funded by the City of West Point. By paying for the guard West Point will likely receive the services significantly earlier then they would have otherwise, and they will allow the county to retain one of the soon to be closed correctional institute employees.

“I think it is great because it will allow us to keep an additional staff person,” Tentler said.

According to Tentler, only 17 of the 73 employees from the corrections institute are still looking for jobs, and four of those employees could potentially be moved into positions that the board of commissioners will vote on at its Tuesday meeting.

The board of commissioners also considered requests from the county staff that corrections institute employees who transferred to other jobs within the county be allowed to keep their previous pay, and that those who cannot find another job by the end of the month be given a severance package based on their years with the county.

“My recommendation to you will be that if they were there less than one year, we give them a two weeks pay severance package,” Tentler said. “If they are there from one to three years, we give them a four weeks pay severance package.

If they were there four to seven years, we give them a six week severance package, and if they were there for over seven years or more, we would give them an eight week severance package. That would be at the rate of pay that they are getting now, times the hours that they were working in those time periods.”

The Troup County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on these issues and others on Tuesday at 9 a.m. at 100 Ridley Ave.