"The primary purpose of the Pay to Stay program is to encourage inmates to be financially responsible for a portion of the service and care they receive while incarcerated," Washington County sheriff's Chief Deputy Jake Schultz stated in a news release. "It is also intended to offset the cost of incarceration, thus lessening the tax burden on individual citizens." The inmate will pay his bill upon being released from jail. Some inmates will receive discounts for good behavior, participating in school or self-help programs and for paying the bill in a lump sum.

"This program assists inmates in learning responsibility and accountability for their actions," Schultz said. "Our goal is to ensure the inmates return to the community more responsible then when they entered the facility."

The Pay to Stay program in Washington County follows in the footsteps of several other jails around the country, including the Utah County jail, which, in 2007, began charging inmates incarcerated for misdemeanors to pay $10 a day to stay. -Jason Bergreen