Douglas Williams has been working at the Rome-Floyd Recycling Center for about a year, and while he doesn’t earn a salary, he is earning valuable skills.

Williams is one of 40 inmates from the Floyd County Prison who work at the center, learning skills they didn’t have before and saving the center thousands of dollars.

“You multiply 40 hours a week by minimum wage, and that will be a substantial amount of money,” said Mark Skaggs, manager of the recycling center.

The recycling center is not the only place inmates are working, according to information from Jeff Chandler, warden at the prison.

Exactly 295 inmates are assigned to work details in Floyd County. That’s the majority of the prison population, which ranges from 345 to 360, Chandler said.

Of those 295 inmates, 66 work inside the prison, and another 28 have other prison details. That’s the majority, but the rest work in areas throughout the county, including public works, animal control and the Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Authority.

Last year inmates worked a total of 571,726 hours. Through Nov. 30 of this year, the inmates have worked 547,063.

“We have more inmates working know than we have in the past,” Chandler said, adding that the number has increased in the past few years.

Inmates must pass security criteria that are determined by a classification committee. The criteria include offenses — past and current — and they look at their job skills.

The committee has to unanimously decide if an inmate can work outside of the prison.

“It doesn’t behoove us to have them just sitting back there,” said Chandler.

Skaggs said he has few problems using inmate labor. And like Williams, many are learning skills as they work there, he said.

Williams said he has learned how to work a bobcat, another skill he didn’t have before.

When Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital closed, it ended the job for a crew of 10 inmates and a supervising correctional officer. The officer was able to be reassigned, Chandler said.

Chandler recently appeared before the Cave Spring City Council to offer inmate services to the city, telling the council, “It’s a way for you to get more done with less.”

He hopes the City Council agrees to allow eight to 10 inmates to work details that could include landscaping, painting and garbage pickup.

Cave Spring council members said they are looking into the possibility.