NATCHEZ — Paying someone else to feed prisoners at the Adams County jail should save the county approximately $53,000, Sheriff Chuck Mayfield says.

Mayfield said contracting jail food services out to Valley Food Services will also shift liability from the county to a contracting company, which poses a major advantage.

“We are going to have the same kitchen staff, but Valley will actually take over their salaries,” Mayfield said.

“They will also assume any liability in case anything goes wrong.”

Adams County Jail Administrator Maj. Charles Harrigill estimated a minimum savings of approximately $53,000, most of which is derived from employee costs rather than actual food costs.

The savings includes salaries for cook and food servers, as well as workers compensation, insurance, benefits and retirement for those employees.

Valley will hire the same cook and part-time cook that the county currently employs, Mayfield said. The county currently pays one cook and one part-time cook $10.40 an hour for an annual cost of $32,146, Harrigill said. Mayield said it is possible Valley will give those employees a raise.

The $198,000 cost of the contract will be included in the $200,000 food budget for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2010, and ending Sept. 31, 2011.

Last fiscal year, the food budget was $215,000. However, the county only spent $144,000, or 67 percent of its food budget, by the end of September 2010.

Harrigill said the food contract will save $37,509 in employee salaries, $7,704 in benefits, supplemental security income, insurance and retirement for those employees and $7,000 in supplies for the jail.

The cost of food has increased almost every year in the past four fiscal years.

The cost of feeding prisoners was $126,000 in the 2006-2007 fiscal year, $138,000 in 2007-2008, $172,000 in 2008-2009 fiscal year and $144,000 in 2010-2011. The food budget for 2010-2011 was $215,000, however.

Mayfield’s Administrative Assistant, Maj. Debbie Gee said the jail serves the prisoners 3,000 calories a day. She said food costs have been difficult to predict when budgeting in the past because of the number of prisoners housed at the jail is constantly changing.

In addition to taking over all services, Valley Food Service will also bring in a new food manager whose cost will be included in the contract.

Mayfield said the new manager will be an outside hire that will keep inventory, manage employees, operate cleaning and place food orders.

When power outages occur, Valley will be responsible for making certain food operations persist. Mayfield said Valley’s experience and access to generators is a major plus when reflecting on Katrina in 2005 when most of the food at the jail had to be thrown away due after spoiling.

Mayfield said his administration saw the food service contract as a way to save money after hearing about the option at a conference.

Valley is based in Greenwood and provides services nationwide. Other Valley customers include the Mississippi Department of Corrections and Natchez Regional Medical Center.

The sheriff’s office is also looking into contracting out medical services for the prisoners, Mayfield said.