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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRISON BOARD MINUTES February 2026 FRANKLIN COUNTY PRISON BOARD MINUTES Franklin County Jail February 10, 2026 Present: Ben Sites, Sheriff/Chairman Dean Horst, Commissioner John Flannery, Commissioner Bob Ziobrowski, Commissioner Hon. Shawn Meyers, President Judge Heather Franzoni, Warden Carrie Gray, County Administrator Doug Wilburne, Probation Chief John Thierwechter, Asst County Administrator David Sunderland, FCJ Deputy Warden Geoffrey Willet, Probation Deputy Chief Ellen Eckert, Pre-Release Supervisor Michelle Weller, FCJ Deputy Warden Jeffrey Scott, FCJ Deputy Warden Rebekah Reigner, Court Administrator Daniel Foy, Deputy Sheriff Etta Rotz, Deputy Controller I. The meeting was called to order by Sheriff Sites at 8:30 AM. II. Public Comment A. There was no public comment III. Minutes for the January 2026 meetings were discussed. A. Commissioner Ziobrowski moved to accept the minutes, Commissioner Horst seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. IV. Warden’s Report A. There were 131 commitments and 142 discharges in January. B. The average daily population was 259.6 with 226 males and 34 females C. The recidivism rate for all commitments was 44%. The recidivism rate for only those committed on new charges was 41%. D. A snapshot look at statistics for January showed there were 102 sentenced and 149 unsentenced inmates. There were six inmates being held for other counties and two federal inmates. There were 39 inmates on approved temporary absences to other facilities and one awaiting transport to the state institution. E. There was $950.37 in revenue from Room & Board fees and $6,176.03 collected from Central Booking fees. F. The average length of stay for those released in January was 53.7 days. G. There were 47 inmates held in other county jails, with a total expense of $101,956.86. H. Twenty-four inmates from other agencies were housed at FCJ in January, for a total of $12,906. I. PrimeCare’s medical report was presented. There were 1120 sick calls. There were five trips to the ER and no hospital admissions. There were 688 mental health contacts. There were no inmates at Torrance State Hospital and one inmate awaiting transfer. There were two inmates on constant observation. There were 53 in the Medication Assisted Therapy (MAT) program. There were 154 on the MH caseload and an additional 35 with SMI diagnoses. There were 30 commitments placed on detox protocol. There were three pregnant inmates. J. December’s expenditures and budget were discussed. Commissioner Ziobrowski asked if there were still any expenses pending from last year and Warden Franzoni answered that no major expenses were pending. K. Commissioner Flannery moved to accept Warden’s report, Commissioner Ziobrowski seconded the motion and the report was unanimously approved. V. Intermediate Punishment report A. The Pre-Release department received 33 intakes in January and processed 30 discharges B. There were seven inmates placed into employment. C. There were 1458 hours of community service completed. D. The Drug and Alcohol RIP/DCIP program had 90 offenders. There were 13 successful discharges in January. E. The Pre-Trial Supervision program had 58 offenders. F. The Sex Offender Program had 44. G. There were 33 offenders on the Mental Health caseload. H. There were 20 on the Intensive Monitoring Program caseload. I. There were 15 participants in the Good Wolf Treatment Court. J. There were 13 offenders detained and there were 22 that were given alternative sanctions. K. There were 165 daily jail bed days saved by using the alternative sanctions of intensive/electronic supervision (620 days), DCIP/D&A RIP (2120 days), treatment court (496 days) and pre-trial release (1864 days). L. The Community Release program collected $8,449.32 in January and the Probation Department collected $191,037.29. Sheriff Sites asked about time frames for collection of fines and costs. Chief Wilburne answered that the offender is held accountable for payment while on supervision. If the case is terminated and no payments are made within two years, the department will turn it over to a collections agency. VI. Jail Expenses A. Commissioner Flannery moved that the jail’s current bills be paid, Commissioner Ziobrowski seconded the motion and the motion was unanimously approved. Sheriff Sites asked for clarification on the payment for religious services. Warden Franzoni explained that the expense is the county’s contribution towards the chaplain’s salary, and that the rest of the salary is paid for by the United Council of Churches. VII. Old Business A. Warden Franzoni provided a staffing update. There are 49 FT officer positions and five PT officers. One Basic Training academy was completed in January, and another academy is being held in February. B. Warden Franzoni gave a facilities update. The jail will be partnering with Franklin Together to sponsor a Community Resource Fair for inmates on March 26th. The jail has started receiving the equipment for the security system upgrade. The jail’s state inspection will be held on March 12th. C. Warden Franzoni updated the board on the final ruling of the Federal Communications Commission. Inmate phone rates will decrease and the cost of messaging will increase. The jail’s vendor, ViaPath, increased the content usage commission. The overall decrease in commission was discussed. Warden Franzoni said that past and current jail administration have always been judicious with the use of the money earned through ViaPath’s commission, and that would help mitigate the impact of the decrease. D. Warden Franzoni discussed the jail’s usage of a COSSUP grant. The money will be used to strengthen the CARES program so that it can fund housing for re-entrants discharging from the jail. VIII. New Business A. The July – December 2026 meeting schedule was discussed. The proposed dates are to be reviewed and will be voted on at the next meeting. The courthouse has been added to the rotation. Commissioner Ziobrowski asked if the previous technological issues had been resolved. Court Administrator Reigner answered there should be no issues since the platform had been switched to TEAMS. B. Sheriff Sites asked if voting Prison Board members could send representatives from their agencies to attend and vote on their behalf at meetings. County Administrator Gray answered that this had been reviewed by the county’s solicitor and that it was not recommended. IX. The next meeting is scheduled for March 10, 2026 at 8:30AM at the Administration Building. Commissioner Flannery moved to end the meeting, Commissioner Horst seconded the motion, and the meeting was adjourned. X. Following adjournment of the Prison Board meeting, the Board completed the required tour of the Franklin County Jail. The areas viewed were the male and female units, the staff’s dining area, Central Booking and general corridors. No issues were observed.