The Associated Press
JACKSON, Mich. — State prison inmates are being put back to work shoveling snow and performing other work for local governments.
The Michigan Department of Corrections stopped its prison work crew program last year because of budget constraints.
The Jackson Citizen Patriot reports that prisoners are returning to work in the Jackson, Adrian and Coldwater areas. A state spokesman says they also will work in Macomb County.
Inmates will start working in other counties once the state hires more corrections workers.
Local governments will be charged more for the relatively low-cost labor. They will pay up to $37.50 a day per prisoner for 10 hours of work. The state was charging $15 per day per inmate before stopping the program.