As for medical treatment, Pitts said inmates are gaming the system.

The sheriff said he recently received a call from a woman who was wanted on a warrant. She asked about the jail doctor and mentioned she had “something on (her) head that needed to get looked at,” before agreeing to turn herself in.

“Once they hit our jail, they’re sick. And then when they get into the cells they talk to each other. They say, ‘Oh, you got aspirin for that? Or you got a prescription for that?’ So everyone in that cell … (claims to have) the same disease,” Pitts said.

At this time, the jail plans to charge inmates $10 for a doctor’s visit and $5 for a prescription.

Commissioner Grant Gerber asked whether the price was too low. Pitts responded that it probably was too low. He said he’d like to begin charging $10 per visit and raise the price at a later time.

Inmates won’t be billed for medical emergencies.

Pitts said an announcement about the changes would be made to the inmates soon.