Bergen County To House Passaic Jail Inmates In New Agreement

HACKENSACK, NJ — Bergen and Passaic Counties have reached a new shared service agreement in which all those incarcerated at the county jail in Paterson will soon be transferred to Bergen County Jail.

The positives of the deal are largely financial on both sides, officials said.

Passaic County will avoid spending "hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on a new jail facility," while Bergen County officials expect to make hundreds of millions over the course of the agreement.

Bergen County officials anticipate receiving $18.9 million at minimum in the first year, and expect to gross at least $195,457,500 over the course of the agreement.

"By consolidating corrections operations with Bergen County, Passaic gets access to a modern facility, while allowing Bergen County to better utilize the jail, which has operated at less than half capacity as of recently," officials said.

"This deal is good for the taxpayers of both counties by bringing additional revenue to Bergen and significant savings to Passaic over the 10-year term of the agreement."

Passaic County is "expected to save funds on liability and capital expenditures, and reallocate law enforcement resources to better serve all its communities," officials said.

So how does the deal work?

Bergen County will receive $104 per day for each inmate housed at the Bergen County Jail for the first two years. The rate is set to increase over the course of the 10-year contract, running through the end of 2031.

Passaic County is authorized to transfer a maximum of 700 inmates to the Bergen County Jail, and guarantees a minimum payment supporting the housing of 500 inmates at all times, even if the actual number of inmates dips below that agreed amount, officials said.

Both counties approved the deal this week during votes at respective commissioners meetings.

Bergen County is also poised to enter a shared services agreement with Hudson County, in which they'll assume "responsibility of the female inmate population for Bergen and Passaic County."