In an effort to relieve overcrowding, the Rhea County Sheriff’s Department worked out a deal to send 20 of their inmates to be housed at the Anderson County jail. Authorities say the contract with Anderson County is for 90 days. Currently there are 73 inmates from Rhea County housed in eight neighboring counties. Officials say at a cost of 39 dollars a day per inmate along with medical costs and other factors involved, that adds up to just over 1 million dollars per year that Rhea County has to pay to house inmates out of the county. In the meantime, three locations are being considered for a new and larger Rhea County jail. The state mandated that the overcrowding issue there be resolved by the end of this month.