Lincoln County Commissioners, meeting Dec. 16 with Treasurer Rick Newell, opened three bids that were submitted for the county’s $6 million tax anticipation loan — and awarded the business to Bath Savings Institution.

Each year the county must borrow funds so that county government and services can continue to function before property tax payments are received. Other banks submitting bids for the loan were Camden National Bank and The First National Bank.

In other business before the board, the number of occupants at Two Bridges Jail was a concern for the County Commissioners. According to reports, 150 of the 193 occupants were awaiting trial and 10 percent of these had been in the jail for more than 150 days.

Sheriff Todd Brackett explained that the amount of time a prisoner remains in jail before trial is often the result of attorney requests for continuances and the demands placed on the court’s schedule.

He indicated that he expects the number to decrease in the near future because of the involvement of Maine Pretrial Services, a nonprofit company that assists in pretrial bail supervision for defendants who are awaiting trial.

Discussion about the jail population and the jail’s budget continued and Brackett pointed out that supplemental funding for prisoners at the jail needs to come from the state.

He explained that, when arrests are made by State Police, the Warden Service and other law enforcement personnel, all of the individuals who have been arrested are brought to the county jails.

In addition, if a prisoner is released on parole and they violate the terms of the parole, they are brought to the county jails, not back to the state prison system. For these reasons, Brackett explained, some jail expenses are beyond the control of the jail administration.

“There must be some sustainable state funding that follows inmates,” Brackett said. “The state has to share the jail cost burden with the taxpayers of the county.”