CROWN POINT | The Lake County Jail faces a budget shortfall of more than $842,000 in 2008 thanks in large part to unpaid medical bills, according to a jail overview released Tuesday.

Jail officials also continue to battle crowding and face a possible need for expansion, according to the mid-year review.

John Kopack, Sheriff's Department attorney, said the burgeoning medical budget is the result of unpaid bills under a previous administration.

The jail owed about $2 million to Methodist Hospitals Southlake Campus in Merrillville for its care of Lake County inmates, he said. The hospital agreed to waive the rest of the charges if the county forked over $895,000 by March 11.

That amount, coupled with contracts and outside medical costs, created the shortfall.

"Sheriff, you're broke," Kopack said jokingly to Lake County Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez.

He said the department is seeking an additional $600,000 appropriation from the County Council and will have to find funding for the additional shortfall.

County Councilman Larry Blanchard, R-Crown Point, acknowledged the sheriff's request for additional funding and said the council might discuss the issue at a workshop this week. The council might vote on it as early as next week.

Blanchard said he thought all the unpaid medical bills were resolved this spring.

Jail officials also face looming concerns about a jail expansion in the next 10 years.

Kopack said the jail is 60 beds away from needing more room.

The overview cited various measures to reduce the jail population, including using credit cards for posting bond, the Jail Oversight Committee, bond revisions, bond court and work release. But he said it isn't enough.

Last month, Gary officials announced their intention to close the city's collection of 20 transitional jails in the Gary Public Safety Building. The move will send between 60 and 80 detainees per week directly to the county jail for incarceration.

Dominguez said state law requires him to accept the inmates and absorb the cost of their upkeep, which will top $1.2 million annually.

"Given the Gary situation and the economic downturn, the chance the jail population will grow is very real," he said Tuesday.

Kopack and Dominguez said there is a possibility officials need to start thinking about another jail expansion.

The last expansion cost $30 million, or about $60,000 per bed, using 1998 figures, according to the review.