If convicted of a crime, one serves the time. But now, if that crime is a misdemeanor, you may also pay for the time.

The Utah County Sheriff's Office is starting "Pay to Stay," a program charging some inmates $10 a day to help offset the cost of incarceration.

"It's a form of rent and it's an opportunity to pay the county taxpayers back for the high cost of incarceration," said Utah County Sheriff's Office Capt. John Carlson, who is a captain at the county jail.

Other counties in Utah have established a program -- Carlson said Cache County was the first, charging $43 per night. It costs $61 to house an inmate per day.

Billing starts the moment someone is booked. If convicted, the person serves his or her sentence and is handed a bill upon completion, said Utah County Sheriff's Office Lt. Dennis Harris. If the inmate is ruled indigent, or acquitted, then there will be no cost.

The program is for misdemeanor crimes only. Felons serving time in jail, those on Immigrations and Customs Enforcement restrictions, and federal holds are paid for by their respective agencies, but misdemeanants are the county's expense, said Utah County Sheriff's Office Lt. Mark Beals.

The average stay at the jail for a misdemeanor crime is 64 days, so an inmate could walk out with a bill for $640.

Beals said the money has no designated use yet and will probably go into the county's general fund. He said they hope to be able to show the Utah County Commission next year that the jail is making some profit, not eating tax dollars.

"I don't think the taxpayers should have pay for them to serve time," Beals said, noting that victims of crimes are victimized twice when their tax dollars go to incarcerating someone who hurt them.

While it doesn't sound like $10 will offset the daily cost, Harris pointed out that it all adds up.

The Utah County Jail probably won't start charging inmates until June, Harris said. The program has been in the works for a few years now.

"You have to make sure you've got a computer system running so that it's tracking the misdemeanor inmates," Beals said. "You've got to hire people to keep track of the inmates themselves. Basically, they are an accountant."

Natalie Andrews can be reached at 344-2548 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it