By Sarah DeSantis
The News-Item
SUNBURY — A program employing former Northumberland County Prison correctional officers in positions transporting prisoners between the four magistrate courts and prisons for hearings will conclude April 1, prison board members confirmed.
Stephen Bridy, county commissioner and prison board chairman, said the program, which was designed to employ correctional officers and lessen the burden on municipalities following the Jan. 14 prison fire, cannot continue for financial reasons.
Bridy said he and other board members had viewed long-term project costs of housing prisoners and discovered the prison system will exceed its budget by an estimated $1.3 million this year.
“It’s time to start tightening the belt,” he said.
The correctional officers have been working in teams of two to transport prisoners. Bridy said the county will continue to employ two teams to take prisoners from SCI-Coal Township and SCI-Muncy to the county courthouse in Sunbury. Additional teams, which he said ranged from one to three depending on the timing of hearings, will be laid off until positions are found for them elsewhere in the system.
He anticipated most of them will be re-hired in May when the wings occupied by the county in the state prisons become more autonomous. At this time, Warden Bruce Kovach will be given more control of these wings, which will operate more like the former county prison. This includes granting “ports” for officials like the sheriff, constables and police officers to pick up and drop off prisoners.
Ann Targonski, district attorney and prison board member, said municipal police will resume transporting prisoners April 1 in the same manner as they had prior to the fire. The ports will decrease long wait times some officers had experienced when entering the state jails.
Part of the sky-high costs have come from housing prisoners at state facilities. Since the Northumberland County Prison was destroyed in the fire, the majority of the male prisoners have been housed at SCI-Coal Township while most of the females are in SCI-Muncy. The state Department of Corrections is housing the county inmates at a reduced cost, but it’s still an estimated $1,000 a day more than it cost the county with its own prison.
In addition to the increased cost to drive prisoners to and from the courthouse in Sunbury, Bridy said the board has faced an unanticipated high in salaries. He attributed this to needing extra guards to segregate county and state prisoners while they moved about within the jailhouses.
Bridy said the board will adjust the number of employees according to need, and anticipates a decrease in the number of employees as the county system becomes more refined within its new home. Since the integration began, the prison has been staffed for maximum security.
“That’s the approach they’re taking - better safe than sorry,” Bridy said.
Targonski also noted a minor change in paperwork coming from the courts. While blood draw fees associated with charges of driving under the influence were previously billed as a central booking fee, the name is being changed to be more fitting.
The name change will also free up the term for use when a central processing facility is built, which Targonski said will likely be part of a new prison.