NORWICH – The number of prisoners housed at the Chenango County Public Safety Facility on Upper Ravine Road in the Town of Norwich has increased since the first quarter of the year.

As of April 30, the jail was incarcerating a total of 96 inmates, 17 of them boarded in from outside the county, including one federal prisoner. There were an average of 75 in jail per day during the first three months of 2010.

The three-year-old corrections facility has space for 133 prisoners, and reached close to capacity for the first two years due to the large numbers farmed in. County officials had hoped the revenue stream from boarders would not only help pay off the remaining bond note for the $27 million Public Safety Facility, but also contribute to operating expenses. However, space limitations changes for county jails eased last year, resulting in fewer prisoners that had to be farmed out.

“It’s good that you’re three-quarters full. At least you’re not half empty,” Safety and Rules Committee Chairman Jack C. Cook said following a recent report by Chenango County Sheriff Ernest Cutting.

Members of the Chenango County Board of Supervisors have questioned how the Public Safety Corrections Department will be able to make up the revenues anticipated. The department’s 2010 budget calls for raising $450,000 from farming in.