POTTSVILLE -- It's a full house at the jail house in Pottsville.
The Schuylkill County Prison is overcrowded and to accommodate, some inmates have been tripled up in cells made for just two people.
"It's only supposed to be two because they have bunk beds, but they actually had people sleeping on the floors," said Christopher Ballesteros from Pottsville.
Ballestros and Thomas Dittus recently served time in the county prison. They said the place was packed and they think Schuylkill County should do something about it.
"I was sleeping on the floor because of $200 when I could have been out working to pay that off," said Dittus.
Right now, there's about 300 people in the prison, but only 277 beds.
The Department of Corrections told Schuylkill County that it needs a solution.
"We know it's something we need to do, unfortunately, and when people are bad you need to put them in prison," said Schuylkill County Commissioner Frank Staudenmeier.
There are three options, including putting some inmates on house arrest, moving people into another county building, or shipping some inmates to other prisons or jails.
That last option is expensive, almost doubling the cost of what it takes to keep an inmate in Schuylkill County.
Since the Northumberland County prison burnt down earlier this year, that put even more people in fewer state and local facilities.
"We're looking at places that have the space. Some places don't have the space. Even our own state prison doesn't have the space," said Schuylkill County Commissioner and prison board president George Halcovage Jr.
The prison board is now trying to determine what to do with those inmates, but it seems like everyone inside the prison is costing people outside more money.
Taxpayers say there has to be a better way.
"There's other ways of doing it. Jail doesn't always solve the problem. It can actually make it worse," said Megan Hill of Tamaqua.
Megan Leymeister of Schuylkill Haven said, "Let them do the pre-release program. How can they deal drugs if they can't leave their house?"
There is still no set decision on what the county will do about the prison population.
The prison board says whatever happens will probably not be cheap, but they don't have an alternative.