CANYON CITY — Grant and Harney counties have entered into an agreement to house Harney County adult inmates at the Grant County Jail.

The deal, which remains in force until canceled by either party, is expected to provide a source of revenue for Grant County, officials said. The deal will also help Harney County with overflow in cases where the Harney County Jail has exceeded its capacity, said Harney County Judge Bill Hart.

“The contract is just for overflow in cases if we exceeded our capacity and needed to house inmates in Grant County, just based on space availability,” Hart said. “It’s a cooperative effort between the two counties.”

Under terms of the agreement, Grant County will be paid $60 per inmate, per day, for housing.

“We have finally penned an agreement with them to house their prisoners as needed, and I would move to sign that agreement with Harney County as proposed, allowing them to share our jail as needed,” said Grant County Judge Scott Myers, who added the agreement is “a good source of revenue” for the county.

Sheriff Todd McKinley said the Grant County Jail, built in 1997, currently has 41 beds. In any given month, the jail averages about 12 inmates housed, but in the past has had as many as 35 when the jail had contracts to house prisoners from other law enforcement agencies, he said.

“I would say that I’m glad to see this agreement,” said Grant County Commissioner John Rowell. “I think it’s going to benefit both Grant County and Harney County in their endeavor to take care of prisoners as needed and will help both counties.”

Grant County currently has contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Oregon Department of Corrections, with a few inmates from those agencies housed at any given time, McKinley said.

Terms of the contract also hold Harney County responsible for delivery and return of all Harney County inmates and arranging court appearances, save for Grant County agreeing to weekly transport to a specific location halfway between both jail locations for the purpose of picking up and returning inmates, depending on available staffing.

Grant County also agrees to be responsible for a trip for the purpose of bringing the initial group of inmates to the Grant County Jail.