The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutPRISON BOARD MINUTES January 2025 FRANKLIN COUNTY PRISON BOARD MINUTES Franklin County Administration Building January 14, 2025 Present: John Flannery, Commissioner/Chairman Bob Ziobrowski, Commissioner Harold Wissinger, Controller Heather Franzoni, Warden Ben Sites, Sheriff Doug Wilburne, Probation Chief Mark Singer, Court Administrator Kayla Stoner, Probation Supervisor John Thierwechter, Assistant County Administrator Carrie Gray, County Administrator Ellen Eckert, Pre-Release Supervisor Jeffrey Scott, Deputy Warden Michelle Weller, FCJ Deputy Warden David Sunderland, Deputy Warden I. The meeting was called to order by Commissioner Flannery at 8:30 AM. II. Public Comment A. There was no public comment III. Nomination and Election of Prison Board Officers A. Controller Wissinger moved to keep the appointment of current officers as is, Sheriff Sites seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved that Commissioner Flannery continue as President and Controller Wissinger continue as Secretary. IV. Minutes for the December 2024 meetings were discussed. A. Commissioner Ziobrowski moved to accept the minutes, Controller Wissinger seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. V. Warden’s Report A. There were 106 commitments and 113 discharges in December. B. The average daily population was 204. The average daily population for males was 171 and it was 33 for females. C. The recidivism rate for all commitments was 46%. The recidivism rate for only those committed on new charges was 41%. D. A snapshot look at the jail’s numbers on January 1, 2025 showed there were 78 sentenced and 123 unsentenced inmates. There were four inmates on approved temporary absences to other county jails and three awaiting transport to the state institution. E. There was $1,678 in revenue from Room & Board fees and $4312 collected from Central Booking fees. F. The average length of stay for those released in December was 51 days. G. There were no inmates housed out of county for December. Two Fulton County inmates were housed at FCJ in December, for a total of $5,022 for December and $14,823 for the year. H. A breakdown of the demographic statistics for December indicated that males made up 74% of the population, 71% of the population were white, 35% of the population was between the ages of 25-34, 72% were single and 81% had at least their high school diploma. I. PrimeCare’s medical report was presented. There were 879 sick calls. There were nine outside medical appointments and nine trips to the ER. There was one hospital admission for three days. There were 538 mental health contacts. There was one inmate at Torrance State Hospital and two awaiting transfer. There were six participants in the Sex Offender’s Treatment Program. There were 47 in the Medication Assisted Therapy (MAT) program. There were 133 on the MH caseload and an additional 31 with SMI diagnoses. There were 25 commitments placed on detox protocol. J. November’s expenditures and budget were discussed. K. Sheriff Sites moved to accept the Warden’s report, Controller Wissinger seconded the motion and the report was unanimously approved. VI. Intermediate Punishment report A. The Pre-Release department received 32 intakes in December and 42 discharges (35 at their minimum sentences, two at their maximums and five termination of cases). B. There were seven inmates placed into employment in December (six in new employment and one placed at a second job). C. There were 803 hours of community service completed in December and 20,223 hours completed for the year. D. The Drug and Alcohol RIP/DCIP program had 81 offenders. There were four successful discharges in December. E. The Pre-Trial Supervision program had 44 offenders. F. The Sex Offender Program had 39. G. There were 32 offenders on the Mental Health caseload. H. The Electronic Monitoring Program had eight offenders. I. There were seven offenders detained in December and there were 19 that were given alternative sanctions. J. There were 111 daily jail bed days saved by using the alternative sanctions of electronic monitoring (207 days), DCIP/D&A RIP (1749 days), intensive supervision (171 days) and pre-trial release (1311 days). K. The Work Release program collected $29,347 in December and a total of $205,125 for the year. The Probation Department collected $190,689 in December and a total of $2,550,647 for the year. VII. Jail Expenses A. Sheriff Sites moved that the jail’s current bills be paid, Controller Wissinger seconded the motion and the motion was unanimously approved. VIII. Old Business A. Warden Franzoni provided a staffing update. There are 63 officer positions filled, five applicants pending and 38 vacancies. She said that the jail will revamp the hiring/onboarding process on March 1, 2025. Potential applicants will come directly to the jail to complete their assessments and tours. A hiring committee comprised of jail staff will greet applicants and answer any questions. This immediate peer-to- peer contact should benefit the applicants by giving them support and benefit the existing staff by involving them in the hiring process. B. Warden Franzoni gave a facilities update. Staff members are reviewing the final proposal from the vendor selected for the camera upgrade. Maintenance being done on the closed housing unit is almost complete. IX. New Business A. Warden Franzoni explained the new Warrant Service Officer (WSO) Program. The program is a partnership initiative by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that allows specially trained local law enforcement officers to assist in enforcing federal immigration laws. Franklin County Jail staff participating in the program will be authorized to serve immigration warrants, specifically administrative warrants for individuals subject to removal from the United States. The program is designed to facilitate the detention and transfer of undocumented individuals already in local custody to ICE, streamlining the process of federal immigration enforcement. Once out of Franklin County custody; ICE will have an additional 72 hours to come pick up the detainee. The training and implementation will be of no cost to the county. The county solicitor has already approved the program, and the next step would be for commissioners to review and approve. X. The next meeting is scheduled for February 11, 2025 at 8:30AM at the Franklin County Jail. Sheriff Sites moved to end the meeting, Controller Wissinger seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned.