Prison board continues discussion on daily housing fee for inmates
Members of Fayette County’s prison board revisited the topic of charging inmates at the new jail a daily housing fee.
At Wednesday’s regular meeting, county Controller Robb Rhodes said counties like Westmoreland and Somerset impose a $10-per-day fee to each inmate housed in a county jail. That money, he said, goes toward facility management costs.
Members of the prison board, which is comprised of the county sheriff, three commissioners, district attorney, judge and Rhodes, initially discussed the topic at their February meeting.
Rhodes said Wednesday he wasn’t able to gather enough information to give a detailed presentation on how the fee may work. He said he may visit other counties that have the fee program in place to get additional information about how they charge the inmates and collect the fees.
He said the county tailor the program, suggesting that those inmates who opt into the newly-established IGNITE program could be exempt.
Launched last month, the Inmate Growth Naturally & Intentionally Through Education program is geared toward the comprehensive rehabilitation of those behind bars.
Fayette was the first county in Pennsylvania to launch IGNITE, which provides education, vocational training and life skills to help inmates successfully reintegrate into society.
Some local businesses have already partnered with the program to train inmates, and potentially hire them after they are released.
Commissioner Scott Dunn said while he’s not opposed to the idea of charging per-day fees, he wants to be fully informed before he makes a decision about whether that’s right for the county.
He questioned who would collect the money and what kind of expense may be associated with that, noting his understanding is that collection rates are very low.
Commissioner Dave Lohr suggested involving the county’s clerk of courts office in the discussion. Since the office is responsible for collecting court fines and costs, office personnel would be well-equipped to explain both how the collection process works for them, and what the collection rate is.
Judge Steve Leskinen had an admittedly pessimistic view on the proposal. With many of Fayette’s defendants indigent and represented by the public defender’s office, he felt they’d be unlikely to pay a housing fee.
Rhodes said he’ll gather more information to bring to next month’s meeting.