Schuylkill County commissioners are asking the state Department of Corrections to lift or modify restrictions on accepting new inmates sentenced to six months or more into the aging prison on Sanderson Street in Pottsville.

The state imposed the restrictions on May 4, telling the county it had to keep the inmate population below a daily average of 277 for three months.On Monday, commissioners Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. sent an electronic letter to DOC Secretary John E. Wentzel, citing the financial burden resulting from the restriction."Our cumulative biweekly census reports reflect that the total inmate population at the prison was reduced to a low of 210 in June 2016, and has not exceeded 223 through July 7, 2016," Halcovage wrote.No inmates have been triple-celled as of July 7, he wrote.Further, the restriction has hit the county hard financially."As you are aware, lifting this ban as quickly as possible is vital to the successful operation of of our court system and to saving taxpayer dollars," Halcovage wrote.He said the average cost of housing an inmate in the state is $67 a day; the county pays about $60 a day to house its inmates in Columbia, Center, Delaware and now Berks county prisons.The cost to house an image at Schuylkill County's prison is about $45 a day.Halcovage wrote that a July 5 DOC inspection of the prison "focused on housing issues," and that he believes the county will receive a favorable report.He told Wentzel, "The county prison board, warden, county administrator, the courts, sheriff's office, the district attorney's office, adult probation and the public defender's office worked very hard and in concert to get the inmate population down to acceptable numbers.""There's good communication between all parties involved. There are a lot of moving parts on this and we continue to move forward," Halcovage said Wednesday.He said he would like to see the population capped at 240 to allow for an influx due to drug sweeps.