Schuylkill spends $2M on inmate overflow

Schuylkill County has spent $2,062,357 since 2016 to house overflow inmates in out-of-county jails.

February’s bill alone was $146,605.

The figures surfaced at a county prison board meeting Wednesday.

The costs do not include overtime or transportation, said county Controller Christy D. Joy.

The money comes from the county’s general fund.

The county started shipping overflow inmates out to other jails after the state Department of Corrections in May 2016 ordered it to stop accepting new inmates until it got the population below a daily average of 277.

The DOC lifted the restriction three months later, after the county kept the numbers down by housing inmates at other counties’ prisons.

But the struggle continues. Last month, the population peaked at 281. As of Wednesday morning, the population stood at 234, said Warden Eugene Berdanier.

The number doesn’t include the 69 inmates who were housed at out-of-county jails at a cost of between $65 and $70 per inmate per day.

There were seven in Berks County, 16 in Centre County, 16 in Columbia County, 17 in Lackawanna County and 13 in Snyder County.

The prison is anticipating a wave of new admissions in May due to sentencing and guilty pleas.

The alternate housing is a temporary solution. Long term, the prison board is planning an intermediate punishment facility.

Prison Board Chairman and President Judge William E. Baldwin spoke about the group that’s meeting among courts, adult probation, and the sheriffs office to make sure the flow of inmates is as efficient as possible.

The group formed after the state DOC ordered the county to alleviate the overcrowding.

To help determine exactly what the facility would entail, the county hired Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates in Mechanicsburg for $38,400 to update its 2008 prison study to determine what the county’s needs will be over the next 20 years.

A meeting scheduled for Wednesday with Crabtree was canceled due to weather. It will be rescheduled.

District Attorney Michael A. O’Pake asked whether the courts will decide who is placed in the intermediate punishment facility. Baldwin said the court will set guidelines, but placement would be decided by sentencing judges on a case-by-case basis.

Halcovage said the county needs to explore all options as to where the facility would be located and what form it would take.

Baldwin noted areas the board is seeking to improve for next state inspection are overcrowding, triple celling and an emergency plan.

Berdanier said he’s contacting Allegheny County as it is a good model to follow. He’ll also talk to the Cumberland County warden to house overflow prisoners.