Lucerne County final budget clarifies appropriations

The Lucerne County Penitentiary remains the top budget spending item in 2023, and has now surpassed the $30 million mark, according to the recently released Final Budget.

The publication provides clarity on the end result of the rounds of amendments made by the council prior to last month’s budget.

The county jails are budgeted at $31.46 million, up $1.58 million from last year’s $29.88 million.

In terms of revenue, the prison system should bring in about $820,000.

The analysis shows that most of the increase in spending is in wages, overtime, maintenance, some utilities, and the cost of medical care and food for prisoners.

The budget amendments canceled the original $32.1 million proposal for the penitentiary system.

The Board agreed with the recommendations of Acting District Superintendent Brian Swetz and Acting Chief of Corrections John Robshaw to help offset rising prison food costs by awarding a prison kitchen management contract and eliminating the $250,000 requested for prison research.

Robshaw suggested that the council consider postponing the prison study, saying he didn’t know if that was “a wise tactic at the moment”.

The council has asked the administration to find an outside expert to assess options for a future prison because the Water Street Jail in Wilkes-Barre has an inefficient layout and requires significant maintenance. Opportunities included expanding the current prison, taking over a former state correctional facility at an orphanage in Newport Township, building a new prison elsewhere, or partnering with other counties to build a regional prison.

In December, the county’s average daily prison population was 521, including those held at the Reichard Street Petty Offenders Building in Wilkes-Barre.

Mark Rocovich recently retired as Chief of Corrections after nearly 32 years at the County Jail, and Swetz told the board that he hoped to nominate the Board for a permanent Chief of Corrections before Robshaw’s second 90-day appointment as Acting Director expired. March.

Duty

According to the budget, paying off the county’s $26.88 million debt is the second largest expense after prison.

This payment is $300,000 more than last year.

While the county’s payments will hover around that amount for another six years or until 2029, the final scheduled repayment of $6.2 million is set for 2030.

The milestone in 2030 will drastically reduce pressure on the general fund’s operating budget, officials said.

County officials cited the debt reduction as a major achievement in recent years, as outstanding debt rose to $466 million in 2009, before going into self-government in 2012. The debt arose from multi-year borrowing to cover capital projects, deficits, and other expenses.

This year’s budget of $161.8 million includes a 2.99% tax increase, down from the originally proposed 6.75% and up $24.50 on an average property valued at $132,776.

With this increase, the county’s budget should receive $123.3 million from property taxes in 2023, or another $4.8 million as shown in the budget.

Other departments

After prison, the Judicial Branch has the highest departmental appropriation at $18.63 million, which the budget shows is almost $719,000.

This branch covers administration, magistrates’ district courts, probation, and family relations. The company is expected to generate $6.9 million in revenue this year.

Final budget expenditures for 2023 for the rest of the divisions and their comparison with 2022:

• Social Services – $8.68 million (down $30,000)

An earmarked contribution is a county contribution that comes from the general fund for children and youth, Veterans Affairs, Mental Health and Development, Drugs and Alcohol, Block Grant, and Human Services Administration.

• Administrative Services – $7.58 million (up $110,180)

The section includes costs for human resources, election bureau, mapping/GIS, procurement, information technology, licensing, and liability/property insurance. It is budgeted to generate $505,200 in revenue.

• Litigation and reporting – $5.69 million (another $507,860)

The division covers record keeping and the following departments: deeds/wills, coroner, protonotary, sheriff/guard, and court clerk. It is budgeted to generate $4.88 million in revenue.

• Operational services – $5.3 million ($406,860 more)

This department includes the following departments: planning/zoning, building/territory, boiler room, emergency management, road/bridge, engineering, and a small portion of the 911 budget. The division’s budget should bring in $926,970.

• Budget/Finance – $3.4 million (down $32,650)

In addition to the budget/financial staff, the department covers the costs of tax collection, property valuation and treasury operations.

The unit is budgeted to generate $136.1 million in revenue, taking into account current and tax arrears.

• Law – $2.4 million (another $152,730)

This covers the costs of a lawyer, a conflict lawyer and external legal costs not covered by insurance. It should bring in $275,000 in revenue.

• Public Defender – $2.79 million ($159,680 more)

The public defender’s office is budgeted to generate $290,000 in revenue.

The final county budget is available for review in the Budget/Finance section of luzernecounty.org.

Contact Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or tweet @TLJenLearnAndes.