An attempt to submit legislation to help mitigate York County's jail-consolidation-influenced budget woes has failed on its first try. But one county senator remains confident some changes will be made to address the situation.

Sen. Richard Nass, R-Acton, said the Legislative Council voted 6-4 recently not to allow a bill on the jail consolidation plan to move forward in the Maine

Legislature's second session of the biennium. That vote has been appealed, and if Nass can secure more support it will be brought up when the Legislature returns in January.

The Legislative Council is made up of legislative leaders. Nass said the vote was along party lines.

"Hopefully we'll get another crack at this," Nass said. "It will be a tough bill to get passed because York County is the only one truly suffering financially (from jail consolidation). I am not sure this is going to be a slam dunk."

York County has been dealing with budget difficulties in recent years, a financial situation made worse by $932,000 in jail revenues that a new state jail consolidation law mandates can't be used for non-jail budgets.

On Sept. 14, the county laid off 24 employees in order to deal with an anticipated $1.3 million shortfall heading into next year's budget. Seven York County Sheriff's Office deputies and one clerk, seven positions from the Registry of Deeds office, five from the district attorneys' office, three probate positions and a finance position were included in the layoffs.

York County Manager Richard Brown said the only way to cover the shortfall was by laying off about 12 percent of the county's 180 employees.

The York County Commissioners requested the bill be submitted. Nass said the bill would seek to do three things: restoring the former status quo where revenues for holding state inmates in the county jail could be used in the entire county budget, shifting some of the revenue to cover the county's administrative costs and allowing some of the revenue to be used for debt service on the county jail.

York County has $1.8 million in debt service on its jail.

Nass said a return to the old system that allowed counties to use state inmate revenue in the county budget as a whole is very unlikely. But he feels the other changes, in particular regarding jail debt service, have a better chance of passing. The jail for Sagadahoc and Lincoln counties also has debt service.

"It's still really a long shot," Nass said.