COLORADO (KRQE) — La Plata County Jail is ending a 30-year agreement with the City of Durango, which allows them to send their inmates there. The city now has 30 days to negotiate new terms or lose the ability to use the jail for certain inmates. This was all discussed at the La Plata County Commission meeting Tuesday morning. "There's not an intent to not house City of Durango inmates," said Sheriff Sean Smith of the La Plata County Sheriff's Office. "We're strictly trying to make sure we have our liability covered and that we have tools necessary to manage the population when we get to that point." Roswell mayor: Full recovery from flooding may take 3 to 4 years In February of 1994, the La Plata County Jail and the City of Durango entered into an agreement that the county jail would house city inmates—meaning people who violated city codes in Durango, like camping in public places. For 30 years, the two entities have been amending and renewing that contract; but now, concerns of overcrowding, liability, and financial stress have led the jail to want a new agreement—that means, ending the old contract, which the jail needs the La Plata County Commission's approval to do. "The city has an opportunity to not disrupt its abilities to house city prisoners at the jail by executing a new IGA (intergovernmental agreement) prior to December 26th, 2024, which is 30 days from the date of the attached letter," said Chuck Stevens, La Plata County manager. If they can't reach an agreement by then, "La Plata County would no longer house city prisoners," Stevens said The sheriff was quick to explain: people who violate Colorado state law would still be housed in their jail. "This is not cutting off the jail to the city of Durango Police Department. This is simply saying that this municipal set of ordinances that their court enforces is what's potentially impacted," Smith said. Smith said all of this was triggered when the jail had more than 200 inmates in August, despite only technically being allowed to house 195 a day; also, increasing liability concerns and rising costs to house inmates amid financial challenges in the county. "It highlighted for us the fact that we didn't have all the current agreements we wanted," Smith added. Negotiations in recent months between the county jail and the city to reach a new agreement have stalled; so Monday, the commission voted unanimously to send the city the termination letter. During the commission meeting, the presiding judge of the Durango Municipal Court expressed concern that losing the agreement would leave them without the ability to enforce the city's laws, especially for repeat offenders.