The Livingston County Jail was nearly empty by Wednesday afternoon.

County officials on Tuesday announced they were closing the facility, saying they could no longer afford to repair and operate it. The county is facing a decrease in funding and an increase in expenses.

Commissioners and the Sheriff did not want to put a bond issue before voters to cover the difference.

Sheriff Steve Cox says he spoke with the detainees Tuesday evening and reported what was taking place.

Cox says most of the detainees were transferred to the Daviess Dekalb County Regional Jail by around 10:00 a.m. Wednesday. He says the last few were transferred after completing Court appearances.

They have kept the trustees on hand for a few more days. They’re being put to work cleaning and otherwise preparing the jail to shut down areas to save utilities. Cox says they are utilizing some of the jail as a storage facility for the county.

Cox reports some minor incidents during the transition. He says detention officers heard “a few choice words” from a few male detainees. And he says a couple of inmates destroyed some books and tried to trash the area while officers were shackling and attending to other detainees.