By Holly Herman
Reading Eagle
READING, Pa. — Two Berks County Prison deputy wardens who were promoted to the management posts in the 1990s are no longer working at the jail in Bern Township, sources confirmed Wednesday.
Ann M. Brown, 37, deputy warden of custody, and Kimberly M. Bergan, 39, deputy warden of treatment, are being replaced as part of management restructuring following Warden George A. Wagner’s sudden retirement on Jan. 31, sources said.
Brown and Bergan each earned annual salaries of $66,700, according to county records.
County officials would not comment on specifics regarding why the two prison managers are no longer employed.
Carl E. Geffken, chief county operators officer and county spokesman, said he could not speak about personnel matters, and
Commissioner Kevin S. Barnhardt, prison board chairman, also declined to comment.
Barnhardt, however, said the county is in the process of replacing the deputy wardens.
“We are working through the issues that have come up as a result of the warden’s (Wagner’s) retirement,” he said.
In a February interview, Wagner said he retired after 33 years as prison warden because he was tired of the job stress and wanted to relax or possibly work in a more positive environment.
In the meantime, Barnhardt said that the jail, which houses over 1,100 inmates, is running smoothly under Acting Warden Janine L. Quigley.
A panel working to fill the warden’s post has selected two finalists from 17 applicants. They will be interviewed next week by the prison board, and Barnhardt anticipates the post will be filled in June.
The panel consists of Geffen; Christine M. Sadler, prison board solicitor; Arnie Wetzel, human resources director; Matthew J. Connell, a Chester County civil rights attorney; and Mary Sabol, York County Prison warden.
Brown, a Bloomsburg University graduate, began working at the prison in 1992. By 2002, she was promoted to deputy warden to oversee prison operations.
Bergan, also a Bloomsburg grad, was hired in February 1997 and was promoted in March 2006 to deputy warden of treatment.
Brown and Bergan could not be reached for comment.