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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRISON BOARD MINUTES June 2025 FRANKLIN COUNTY PRISON BOARD MINUTES Franklin County Administration Building June 10, 2025 Present: John Flannery, Commissioner/Chairman Dean Horst, Commissioner Bob Ziobrowski, Commissioner Harold Wissinger, Controller Hon. Shawn Meyers, President Judge Heather Franzoni, Warden John Thierwechter, Asst County Administrator Carrie Gray, County Admnistrator Doug Wilburne, Probation Chief Mark Singer, Court Administrator Ellen Eckert, Pre-Release Supervisor Geoff Willett, Probation Deputy Chief Michelle Weller, FCJ Deputy Warden Jeffrey Scott, FCJ Deputy Warden David Sunderland, FCJ 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. Minutes for the May 2025 meetings were discussed. A. Judge Meyers moved to accept the minutes, Commissioner Ziobrowski seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. IV. Warden’s Report A. There were 118 commitments and 125 discharges in May. B. The average daily population was 280. The average daily population for males was 225 and it was 55 for females. C. The recidivism rate for all commitments was 42%. The recidivism rate for only those committed on new charges was 39%. D. A snapshot look at the jail’s numbers on June 1, 20205 showed there were 110 sentenced and 160 unsentenced inmates. There were five inmates on approved temporary absences to other facilities and 10 awaiting transport to the state institution. E. There was $1549 in revenue from Room & Board fees and $5881 collected from Central Booking fees. Commissioner Horst noted that Room and Board fees should be higher, since the jail’s population has been higher. Warden Franzoni suggested the collections would increase as those new commitments become sentenced. F. The average length of stay for those released in May was 48 days. G. There were three inmates housed out of county for May. Five inmates from other agencies were housed at FCJ in May, for a total of $2,925. H. A breakdown of the demographic statistics for May indicated that males made up 75% of the population, 68% of the population were white, 33% of the population was between the ages of 25-34, 72% were single and 84% had at least their high school diploma. I. PrimeCare’s medical report was presented. There were 1157 sick calls. There were 23 outside medical appointments and eight trips to the ER. There were two hospital admissions for eight days. There were 736 mental health contacts. There were no inmates at Torrance State Hospital and no one awaiting transfer. There were 10 participants in the Sex Offender’s Treatment Program. There were 60 in the Medication Assisted Therapy (MAT) program. There were 184 on the MH caseload and an additional 35 with SMI diagnoses. There were 29 commitments placed on detox protocol. J. April’s expenditures and budget were discussed. K. There was a discussion on why the jail has seen increased inmate numbers, specifically the highest numbers since pre-COVID. Commissioner Ziobrowski asked if some of the practices used to safely minimize jail numbers during COVID were still being used and both Judge Meyers and Warden Franzoni answered that no practices have reverted to pre-COVID operations. Warden Franzoni reported that no one causal factor has been identified but the group discussed possible reasons, including: increased crime in the younger age demographics, increased population of Franklin County, and criminal caseflow issues such as turnover in the District Attorney and Public Defender offices resulting in more continuances and delays caused by individuals not scheduling their mandated CRN and drug and alcohol evaluations in a timely manner. County Administrator Gray suggested that a report summarizing the types of charges be developed, and Chief Wilburne said that he was already pulling a report together for another committee and that he could present it to Prison Board as well. L. Commissioner Ziobrowski moved to accept the Warden’s report, Controller Wissinger seconded the motion and the report was unanimously approved. V. Intermediate Punishment report A. The Pre-Release department received 45 intakes in May and processed 47 discharges B. There were four inmates placed into employment. C. There were 1142 hours of community service completed. D. The Drug and Alcohol RIP/DCIP program had 84 offenders. There were five successful discharges in May. E. The Pre-Trial Supervision program had 52 offenders. F. The Sex Offender Program had 43. G. There were 34 offenders on the Mental Health caseload. H. The Electronic Monitoring Program had 11 offenders. I. There were 20 participants in the Good Wolf Treatment Court. J. There were 12 offenders detained and there were 14 that were given alternative sanctions. K. There were 134 daily jail bed days saved by using the alternative sanctions of electronic monitoring (331 days), DCIP/D&A RIP (2124 days), intensive supervision (124 days) and pre-trial release (1590 days). L. The Work Release program collected $13,793 in May and the Probation Department collected $227,947. VI. Jail Expenses A. Judge Meyers moved that the jail’s current bills be paid, Commissioner Horst seconded the motion and the motion was unanimously approved. VII. Old Business A. Warden Franzoni provided a staffing update. There are 54 officer positions filled and three scheduled to start next week. The interviews for part-time officers have begun and there are two pending hire. B. Warden Franzoni gave a facilities update. The contract for the security upgrade will be presented to the commissioners tomorrow. The treatment department offices are getting new flooring. C. Commissioner Ziobrowski asked if there were any updates on a recent death in custody and Warden Franzoni answered that there have been updates from PSP or the Coroner’s Office; however, the jail’s medical department is conducting a mortality review later today. VIII. New Business = None IX. The next meeting is scheduled for July 8, 2025 at 8:30AM at the Franklin County Administration Building. Controller Wissinger moved to end the meeting, Commissioner Horst seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned.