By Mark Gilger
The News-Item
SUNBURY — Once its 28-day free rental expires next week, Northumberland County will pay $60 per day indefinitely to house each inmate at state correctional institutions in Coal Township and Muncy.
The daily housing rates per state inmate is $100 for males and $134 for females. It was costing the county $55 per day for each of its prisoners prior to a Jan. 14 fire that destroyed the 139-year-old county jail.
“The state is bending over backwards to help us in any way with the emergency created by the prison fire,” Commissioner Stephen Bridy said at the board’s meeting Tuesday. “Charging us $40 per day less than their own inmates is another example of their fine cooperation.”
Bridy said county officials found that housing rates at neighboring county prisons were higher than the offer made by the state. He said rates at Snyder, Columbia, Centre, Dauphin and Clinton counties were $75, $72, $70, $70 and $78 per day per inmate, respectively.
Commissioner Chairman Vinny Clausi said the average county prison population was about 200 prior to the fire. Based on that figure, he said the county would pay approximately $12,000 per day, or $4.38 million per year, to house inmates at the state correctional institutions. The same number of prisoners would have cost the county $4 million at its own cost of $55 per day. The difference is about 9 percent.
An additional $1.5 million per year will be needed for 19 correctional officers, administrators and staff that the county plans to keep on its payroll to facilitate prison operations. Those aren’t new costs because the county was already paying for those and other employees.
At the time of the fire, the county prison employed 30 full-time and 26 part-time workers. They remain employed, but layoffs are expected because of the fire and the move of prisoners to the state facilities.
When the fire occurred, 176 male prisoners and 32 female inmates were transferred to SCI-Coal Township and SCI-Muncy, respectively.
As of Tuesday, Clausi said the county had 154 males and 32 females incarcerated at the state prisons.
The state agreed the day after the fire to not charge the county to house its inmates for the first 28 days.
Option for part-timers
The commissioners unanimously passed a motion to pay part-time prison employees who are not eligible to collect unemployment compensation an additional two weeks if they agree to work in other county departments as needed. The action also is contingent upon the receipt of a letter or written statement from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union confirming that it will not file a grievance on behalf of any employee.
Commissioner Richard Shoch said the part-time employees will be used in the prothonotary and register and recorder offices for two weeks.
County commissioners voted during an emergency meeting the day after the fire to give two weeks pay to all employees, including the part-timers. Those ineligible to collect unemployment were to be given a second check for two weeks work.
Meeting with DOC
Bridy said county officials met Tuesday morning with Secretary of the Department of Corrections John Wetzel, Sen. John Gordner and representatives of state Reps. Lynda Schlegel Culver and Kurt Masser to review the housing of county inmates.
According to a press release issued by the commissioners, Wetzel reviewed the facilities and programs being made available to county inmates and actions taken to streamline the housing of inmates along with making sure they have appropriate access to the courts, their attorneys and families.
Wetzel outlined what will be done to remedy certain issues and discussed employment opportunities for county prison workers within the state facilities.
The release states that Wetzel has encouraged wardens at surrounding county prisons to employ displaced workers from Northumberland County Prison.
The DOC secretary, Gordner and representatives from the offices of Culver and Masser agreed to continue to work closely with county officials in resolving as many issues as possible until a decision is reached about building a new prison, a regionalized facility or housing inmates at other lockups.
Bridy said decisions by county judges to sentence more inmates to house arrests and time served have helped reduce housing costs.
Clausi said he plans to meet with Gov. Tom Wolf in March to discuss potential grants for the prison.
Sharing services
Shoch said he met with commissioners from surrounding counties to talk about taking a regionalized approach to housing inmates that would involve sharing services rather than building a new regional prison for several counties.
“We are looking at all options and keeping an open mind,” Shoch said.
The commissioners agreed to have CGL Companies of Columbia, S.C., conduct a feasibility study to develop appropriate options and solutions to the prison crisis. The study will address prison location and capacity, and the pros and cons of constructing a new facility versus rehabilitating an existing structure.
At the end of the meeting, several citizens voiced their concerns about the future of the prison.
Jere Snyder, of Shamokin Township, and Joe Rebar, of Shamokin, both representatives of Brush Valley Preservation Association, opposed the construction of a new prison near SCI-Coal Township just as they did more than a decade ago when the federal government was considering building a prison near the site.
“I discourage you from building the prison in Brush Valley,” Snyder said. “There are other options available.”
Clausi, who has proposed building a new prison near the state correctional institution because of the infrastructure being in place, told Snyder, “We won’t damage the site and we must do what’s best for the taxpayers.”
Rebar added, “I don’t agree with using that area (Brush Valley) at all. The prison should be closer to Sunbury.”
Attorney Greg Stuck of Northumberland suggested renovating a facility off Reagan Street near Brewers’ Outlet in Sunbury into a prison.
“I think you will find the site will meet most of the amenities needed for a prison,” Stuck said.
The attorney said it’s important to keep the prison in Sunbury, which is the county seat. He also believes the current board of commissioners should not make the important decision about the future of the prison since its three members may not be in office next year.
Clausi responded, “We can’t sit around and wait. We must look at the most cost-effective location and move forward. We can’t play politics.”
Shoch said the county must explore all options and not make a hasty decision.
Carole Mazzeo, a member of a Crime Watch group known as Friends of Fort Augusta in the Caketown section of Sunbury, supports maintaining the prison in the city because of the logistics, transportation issues and employment opportunities.