The next board of Schuylkill County commissioners will inherit an inmate population that exceeds the available number of beds in the county prison.

All three incumbents are seeking re-election on the board.

The current board of commissioners consists of Republicans George F. Halcovage Jr. and Frank J. Staudenmeier, as well as Democrat Gary J. Hess. Hess is joined on the democratic ticket by challenger Joe Palubinsky.

The inmate population has been a priority for the commissioners for several years.

Since 2015, the county commissioners have made arrangements to send inmates to other counties in Pennsylvania, which have extra beds available for inmates.

Before that, the county dealt with the problem by housing three inmates in cells that were built for two.

Democratic challenger Joe Palubinsky said the outsourcing of prisoners would be his top priority if he is elected to the board.

Palubinsky said it cost Schuylkill County about $1.6 million in 2018 to house prisoners outside of Schuylkill County.

Palubinsky said addressing the prison overcrowding will allow the commissioners to focus on improving quality of life issues in the county.

“The resolution of this problem will permit us to focus on developing strategies to retain our youth in the county, improve services to our seniors and veterans, address blight, assist our emergency responders, support agricultural preservation,” he said.

Gary Hess, the lone Democrat currently serving on the board, said there is a prison overcrowding situation and more room is needed. He likes the idea of an intermediate punishment center for low-level offenders or people at the end of their sentence.

Such a center would also reduce the number of repeat offenders returning to prison after they’re released, he said.

“The biggest thing is we’re spending between $1.6-1.8 million dollars to outsource to other counties. That money is leaving our county, the county’s taxpayer dollars, that’s leaving. I would love to see that revert; that we leave it here,” he said.

Republicans currently hold the majority on the board. Incumbents Staudenmeier and Halcovage say they would rather continue the current practice of sending inmates outside the county rather than building a new facility.

Most of the prisoners housed outside the county are in Centre County Correctional Facility, which costs Schuylkill $60 per inmate per day. That is less than the cost of incarcerating an inmate at Schuylkill County Prison, Halcovage said.

“According to dept. of corrections, our cost to incarcerate is $68 per day. Even by sending these people out, we’re actually saving the taxpayers money,” he said.

Centre County also transports the inmates back and forth to Schuylkill County for no additional cost.

Staudenmeier said the cost of building a new facility in Schuylkill County is much more than the cost of sending prisoners to Centre County.

He said 10 years ago, the project would have cost the county about $4 million, a cost which no doubt has increased. It would take another $2.2 million per year to operate it — more than the $1.3 million he said it costs to send the prisoners to other facilities.

Staudenmeier said his opinion might be different if the cost to send the prisoners to counties was more.

“The scenario right now, it just doesn’t make any sense to build when we’re doing what we’re doing today, and saving about $900K per year,” he said.

Approximately 65 percent of inmates at Schuylkill County Prison are awaiting trial. Halcovage said the courts and district attorney’s office are working together get their cases heard faster. He said the drug court, led by Judge James P. Goodman, is also working well to reduce the inmate population.

Halcovage said his priorities if re-elected include continuing economic development in the county at the existing business parks, as well as the county airport, and appointing qualified individuals to various county authorities who will continue to move the county forward.

Staudenmeier, who first took office in 2002, said his priority as commissioner has always been to provide as many jobs as possible in the county. He said that the success of the Highridge Industrial Park has exceeded the most optimistic expectations, and he’s excited to see more job creation at the former Schuylkill Mall.

“Right now at Highridge, we have over 4,000 jobs and over $1 billion in capital investment. I never thought I’d see the day we’d have to look for new land for industrial development,” he said.