Many costs and fines imposed by county judges are going unpaid due to more people losing their jobs. The county started its Work Crew program about 13 years ago, but now, the number of people participating has nearly doubled.

Cambria County Judge Gerald Long said officials attribute the increase in participation to the recession.

"There are more and more people who can't pay, and that's fine. We understand that. We're not picking on poor people. But, if you commit a crime and you happen to be poor, there's no reason you can't work it off," Long said.

Most participants are on probation, not in jail, so they can work for minimum wage in soup kitchens and Salvation Army branches. They also clean up after every AAABA baseball game and have moved entire libraries over the years.

Last year, the crews logged 200,000 work hours. Officials said the number is rising and the work crew now totals about 80 people.

If people don't pay their fines and don't work off their debt, they will go to jail. There are separate work crews for inmates to repay their debt, and officials said those numbers are also on the rise.