YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - For the first time in more than three years, the Mahoning County Jail will be housing federal prisoners, which could provide a windfall to the jail's operation.

Sheriff Jerry Greene tells 21 News that he expects that the first of the inmates will arrive in a couple of days.

The jail hasn't held inmates facing federal charges since May of 2010, when a federal consent decree over conditions at the jail ended the lucrative program.

The federal government pays the county $80 per day for each prisoner lodged at the jail.

Sheriff Greene says if enough federal inmates are imprisoned at the jail, it could bring between $140,000 to $300,000 dollars a year to help operate the facility.