We Have Benefitted From Inmate Help July 12, 2009 On the Slide ERIN HOOLEY/Standard-Examiner An inmate crew from the Weber County Correctional Facility works on a playground at the Marriott-Slaterville City Office on Friday. Cutbacks reduce number of inmates for community service By Dl LEWIS Standard-Examiner staff dlewis@standard.net OGDEN — Drivers may see fewer inmate work crews in familiar orange jumpsuits on roadsides and around their cities. Weber County Sheriff Brad Slater told the Weber Area Council of Governments that the state Department of Corrections unexpectedly trimmed his budget by $1 million earlier this year, which is forcing cutbacks at Weber County Jail, 2546 Kiesel Ave. The Kiesel facility houses inmates who participate in community service, work release and weekend incarcerations, Slater said, and the number of work crews available for service is decreasing. As crew numbers are reduced, the available crews are kept busy with sheriff's department and county jobs and have less time to work for cities, which have become too dependent on the free labor, Slater said. With the sudden loss of funds, he said, crews are being cut back because it's more expensive Slater to supervise working inmates than those sitting in a cell. If the budget gets really bad, Slater said, the Kiesel facility may be closed completely. The state cut the amount it reimburses counties for holding inmates charged with a state crime. While the percentage of costs 71