The board voted to enact the Bay County Jail transition agreement between the Bay County Sheriff's Office, the County Commission, and Corrections Corporation of America.

The agreement is the next step in the sheriff's takeover of the county jail.

Back on June 17 the board voted unanimously for Sheriff Frank McKeithen and the sheriff's office to run the jail when CCA leaves in October, but before they take over they want to make sure they have a smooth transition.

The sheriff’s office will work with CCA to go over operation procedures. They will also begin the process of interviewing and training staff to be correctional officers.

Jerry Girvin of the County Commission said, "We'll start with the very senior folks and then work down to the deputy warden, the captains, and lieutenants and whatnot. They will shadow the current operations so that when we take over officially in October, or when the sheriff does it won't be walking in blind, they would have spent time with the current staff and they'll know where the keys are, where the doors are, and how things work."

The agreement goes into effect immediately. The sheriff is set to officially take over on October 1.