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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRISON BOARD MINUTES March 2026 FRANKLIN COUNTY PRISON BOARD MINUTES Franklin County Administration Building March 10, 2026 Present: Ben Sites, Sheriff/Chairman Bob Ziobrowski, Commissioner John Flannery, Commissioner Harold Wissinger, Controller 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 Ellen Eckert, Pre-Release Supervisor Rebekah Reigner, Court Administrator Michelle Weller, FCJ Deputy Warden Jeffrey Scott, FCJ Deputy Warden Kayla Stoner, Probation Supervisor 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 February 2026 meetings were discussed. A. Commissioner Flannery moved to accept the minutes, Controller Wissinger seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved. IV. Warden’s Report A. There were 161 commitments and 145 discharges in February. B. The average daily population was 258 with 217 males and 41 females C. The recidivism rate for all commitments was 40%. The recidivism rate for only those committed on new charges was 34%. D. A snapshot look at statistics for February showed there were 90 sentenced and 183 unsentenced inmates. There were five inmates being held for other counties and three federal inmates. There were 35 inmates on approved temporary absences to other facilities and eight awaiting transport to the state institution. E. There was $655.45 in revenue from Room & Board fees and $5,726.05 collected from Central Booking fees. F. The average length of stay for those released in February was 52.5 days. G. There were 41 inmates held in other county jails, with a total expense of $91,948.83. There were 39 inmates held for other agencies, with a total income of 17,118.00 H. PrimeCare’s medical report was presented. There were 1062 sick calls. There were eight trips to the ER. There were three hospital admissions for a total of 11 days. There were 667 mental health contacts. There were no inmates at Torrance State Hospital and one inmate awaiting transfer. There were three inmates on constant observation. There were 61 in the Medication Assisted Therapy (MAT) program. There were 138 on the MH caseload and an additional 41 with SMI diagnoses. There were 29 commitments placed on detox protocol. There were two pregnant inmates. Warden Franzoni stated that she will start highlighting how medical care affects jail staffing, as it is important to discuss the impact of the number of medically compromised inmates. Commissioner Flannery asked for clarification on when an inmate would be sent to a community provider for a medical appointment, and Warden Franzoni answered that it would be for any care that could not be provided directly at the jail. I. Judge Meyers discussed using the jail’s mental health caseload numbers in discussion of a possible treatment court in Franklin County. Warden Franzoni stated that Probation Supervisor Stoner has already taken the initiative at looking at mental health numbers. Supervisor Stone said that she has been looking at the number of referrals made to Adult Probation’s mental health caseload as a starting point in identifying Franklin County’s needs. Judge Meyers suggested reaching out to counties that already have strong treatment court programs. J. January’s expenditures and budget were discussed. K. Commissioner Ziobrowski moved to accept Warden’s report, Controller Wissinger seconded the motion and the report was unanimously approved. V. Intermediate Punishment report A. The Pre-Release department received 48 intakes in February and processed 32 discharges. B. There were seven inmates placed into employment. Chief Wilburne stated that the numbers will be more static due to the housing of work release inmates at another facility. C. There were 1260 hours of community service completed. D. The Drug and Alcohol RIP/DCIP program had 94 offenders. Chief Wilburne reported that the program continues to grow. There were 13 successful discharges in February. E. The Pre-Trial Supervision program had 52 offenders. F. The Sex Offender Program had 42. G. There were 31 offenders on the Mental Health caseload. H. There were 26 on the Intensive Monitoring Program caseload. I. There were 15 participants in the Good Wolf Treatment Court. J. There were 10 offenders detained and there were 16 that were given alternative sanctions. K. There were 203 daily jail bed days saved by using the alternative sanctions of intensive/electronic supervision (780 days), DCIP/D&A RIP (2917 days), treatment court (420 days) and pre-trial release (1572 days). L. The Community Release program collected $8,186.66 in February and the Probation Department collected $191,028.44. 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. VII. Old Business A. Warden Franzoni provided a staffing update. There are 50 FT officer positions and four PT officers. There are four in the onboarding process. The next Basic Training academy is scheduled for April. Sheriff Sites said he planned to stop in to the upcoming academy session to say hello. The recertification of the jail’s CERT team is scheduled for June. B. Warden Franzoni gave an update on union matters. The union held a vote on a proposed schedule that was designed as an attempt to ease staffing strains. The vote ruled not in favor of the proposed schedule, and it was noted that a lot of the union members declined to vote. The next step is arbitration on union grievances. Commissioner Ziobrowski asked if the vote was a public vote and if the members that declined to vote did so out of reasons such as fear and restricted access to the voting process. Warden Franzoni answered that the vote was anonymous and secured by using a lockbox. Union members would know who voted but not how they voted. It was also noted that ten officers have not joined the union. Commissioner Flanner asked if the non-union officers are still represented in employee matters. Warden Franzoni answered that the union will represent them to uphold C. Warden Franzoni gave a facilities update. The jail’s state inspection is scheduled for March 12th. The contractors for the security upgrade are now in the building and installing the new system. VIII. New Business A. The July – December 2026 meeting schedule was discussed. Commissioner Flannery moved to accept the proposed schedule, Controller Wissinger seconded the motion and the schedule was approved. B. Sheriff Sites updated the board on a PA state inmate sending agencies letters laced with synthetic drugs. Franklin County facilities did not receive any letters. IX. The next meeting is scheduled for March 10, 2026 at 8:30AM at the Administration Building. Commissioner Flannery moved to end the meeting, Controller Wissinger seconded the motion, and the meeting was adjourned.