SKOWHEGAN — The new head of the Somerset County Jail is a Waldo County employee who will split his time between the two counties in an arrangement officials believe will ultimately benefit both.

Maj. Matt Magnusson is also the former warden of the state’s largest prison, who resigned that post amid a 2024 investigation into alleged misconduct involving prison officials and inmates.

Through a contract the Board of Commissioners finalized at its meeting Wednesday in Skowhegan, Somerset County is paying Waldo County to have Magnusson provide administrative oversight of its jail in Madison through the end of 2027.

The contract came about following the departure of Somerset County’s former jail administrator, Maj. Michael Welch. 

Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said in an interview Thursday that contracting Magnusson was an idea he proposed to Waldo County Sheriff Jason Trundy.

“One, we have an individual who is extremely qualified,” Lancaster said. “And two, we’re able to save … taxpayer money to combine our administrative costs.”

The unique arrangement is related to a separate contract in which Waldo County, lacking a full jail of its own, pays Somerset County to house its inmates.

The five-year boarding contract began Jan. 1 and provides 40 beds for Waldo County at a fixed rate, beginning this year at a total cost of about $1.47 million. The contract for Magnusson’s double duties went into effect retroactively May 1 and runs 20 months.

Effectively, Magnusson is overseeing both counties’ correctional facilities: the Somerset County Jail, with a rated capacity of 229, and Waldo County’s 72-hour holding facility and men’s reentry center in Belfast. Under the contract, Magnusson remains a Waldo County employee, while providing contracted services to Somerset County.

The contract calls for Magnusson to be at the Somerset County Jail three days a week, at minimum, with availability on the other days.

If Somerset County directly hires Magnusson as jail administrator, a 90-day notice is required.

Somerset County has agreed to pay Waldo County $6,600 per month for the first eight months, while Magnusson is expected to steer a jail policy committee whose work would then be continued by Somerset County staff. For the next 12 months, Somerset County is set to pay Waldo County $6,000 per month.

The contract also includes Somerset County paying Waldo County $75 per hour for up to 300 hours of field training for corrections officers, with the goal that by the end of this year Somerset County staff will have sufficient training to do that work themselves.

The jail, with 36 budgeted frontline positions, has struggled with keeping corrections officers on staff, like many Maine counties. The training program is aimed at improving retention and providing mentorship, Lancaster said. 

“Waldo has some extremely seasoned officers that are going to help us do that,” Lancaster said.

Altogether, Somerset County officials said, the amount due to Waldo County came in at less than what was budgeted for an in-house administrator’s salary, about $100,000. Magnusson’s Waldo County salary in 2026 is set at $107,756, according to budget documents available online.

Magnusson, who lives in Kennebec County, said he holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics and has worked in corrections for 22 years, including stints as a probation officer and supervisor.

He was deputy warden at the Maine State Prison in Warren a year and a half and warden there for five years. The facility, the department’s website states, has a capacity of nearly 1,000, operates an intensive mental health unit and offers a variety of programs and services.

In his role at the prison, Magnusson said he led the facility through three American Correctional Association audits. The Somerset County Jail also has accreditation from the national organization, Lancaster said.

In February 2024, Magnusson was ousted as warden, as the department placed him on leave amid an investigation into harassment, hazing and retaliation among employees, and allegations of misconduct related to inappropriate relations between employees and inmates, according to previous reports.

Magnusson, in a joint interview with Lancaster on Thursday, said he resigned while the investigation was ongoing. 

Not long after, he said, Waldo County hired him and he has worked there for about a year.

Representatives from the Department of Corrections did not respond to an inquiry about the circumstances under which Magnusson left his employment at the state and what the internal investigation concluded. Reached via telephone Friday, department spokesperson Jill O’Brien said she was unsure how soon she could respond to the questions, as well as a separate public records request.

Magnusson said there was misconduct at the prison, and as the person in charge of the facility, he ultimately took the fall. 

“I have great respect for the Department of Corrections,” Magnusson said. “There was some negative conduct that happened at the prison while I was there. I was in charge. And whoever is in charge, they take full responsibility, as any good leader will do.”

Lancaster said he believes decisions at the state level often involve politics.

Residents of both Somerset and Waldo counties should feel fortunate to have a qualified administrator leading their jails, the sheriff said.

“I am very optimistic that this collaboration will work,” he said. “It will be good for Somerset County taxpayers. It will be good for Waldo County taxpayers. And it will be good for the inmates that are being housed here.”