The city manager in Kamloops says he’s met with other CAO’s this week at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention to talk about keep of prisoners and cost challenges that come with that.

David Trawin says it costs the city about $20 per hour to house a “provincial prisoner,” but he says the province only reimburses $6-to-$10 per hour.

“What we’re saying is, that compensation doesn’t match our costs,” he says.

“Thirty per cent of prisoners in Kamloops are not Kamloops prisoners, but are from other jurisdictions. Trying to see if similar numbers are the same for them, as well as the costing for the keep of prisoners is similar to Kamloops, and the (cost) recovery is similar to Kamloops.”

Trawin says any prisoner brought to Kamloops from any rural area is considered a “provincial prisoner.”

He points out Kamloops council members also had a similar discussion about cost challenges regarding provincial prisoners with the Minister of Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.