CLEARFIELD – A budget proposed in Pennsylvania House Bill 218, if passed, would cut over $256,000 in criminal justice funding to Clearfield County, said Lisa Kovalick, community development specialist, at Tuesday’s commissioners’ meeting.
In early April, the House passed H.B. 218, sending it to the Senate for consideration. H.B. 218, as proposed, is approximately $800 million less than Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget proposal.
Under H.B. 218, Kovalick said Clearfield County would have a devastating cut to criminal, justice, administration and reimbursement funding, totaling $256,544.
She provided the following departmental break down of the proposed funding cuts:
- Juvenile Probation, $20,031
- Adult Probation, $48,590
- Intermediate Punishment Programs, $70,876
- Trial Reimbursement, $50,000
- Court Reimbursement, $14,728
- Juror Cost Reimbursement, $31,500
- Human Services Development Fund, $12,180
- Homeless Assistance, $8,639
Kovalick said while looking to hand out cuts in criminal justice funding, the commonwealth isn’t proposing relief from any mandated services required of the counties.
“They are leaving the county forced to make up the difference,” she said. “H.B. 218 is characterized as a ‘no tax increase’ budget by the House.
“However, this loss in funding from the commonwealth will mean local taxes will have to increase to maintain services. If passed as-is, every vote for this budget is a vote for a property tax increase at the local level.”
Kovalick also noted that if the budget passes with H.B. 218, these funding cuts would take effect in the middle of the county’s 2017 fiscal year.
She said this would likely cause service interruptions during an adjustment period and a “great possibility” of the county ending its fiscal year “in the red.”
“The needs of our county and its citizens don’t go away because the state doesn’t provide the funding,” Kovalick said. “County caseloads will remain the same.
“Cuts to behavioral health and intermediate punishment, for instance, will take away community support and alternatives. It will make it more likely offenders will end up in prison, a significant cost driver for our county.”
According to Kovalick, H.B. 218 is a “step back” from budget reform. She mentioned the county’s Right Turn Program, which helps people with substance abuse in the jail. She said they are assisted with case management pre- and post-incarceration.
Kovalick said the behavioral and mental health funding cut may eliminate the programs that human services providers find are vital to reform.
Commissioner Mark B. McCracken said these are “hard dollars” being cut and what is assisting the county to provide probation, IPP programs, etc., as alternatives for people who would have ended up incarcerated.
“One of our big cost drivers is the jail,” he said. He added that the county has to house inmates at other facilities once the jail exceeds 150 inmates.
“When you start adding on the incarceration costs, that’s where the cost to the county really shoots up.”
Former Commissioner Joan Robinson-McMillen, who was in attendance at the meeting, asked how local state Reps. Tommy Sankey and Matt Gabler voted on H.B. 218. She was told both voted in favor, and she asked if anyone had spoken to them about it.
Commissioner John A. Sobel said this was one of the earliest budgets that he’s seen in his experience. He felt there was still plenty of time to speak with Sankey, Gabler and State Senator Wayne Langerholc Jr.
He said he wanted to reach out and try to educate them on how H.B. 218 would adversely affect the county. He didn’t feel criminal justice cuts were appropriate amid increased placement and an opioid epidemic.
Sobel also reminded the board most state budgets that come out at the end of June don’t look like the original proposal.
But he said if they got to the end of May and into June and their input has fallen on deaf ears, then they could take a “hard look at shooting a missile down.”
Kovalick, who had a resolution prepared to oppose H.B. 218 for the commissioners’ consideration, said she’d been around for a while, and feels she has good reason to be concerned with this upcoming budget.
While Sobel felt the commissioners could hold off on the resolution, Scotto and McCracken wanted to take a firmer stance than “let’s talk.”
“We’ll just get bulldozed over and stuck with all these costs,” Scotto said. “… We need these funds. They are vital to our budget, they are vital to reducing crime and they are vital to keeping jail costs low.
“Yet, they handcuff us in a sense and make these mandates and don’t want to give us the money … that’s $250,000 they are asking us to raise.”
McCracken felt the commissioners should pass the resolution and send copies to all of the county’s representatives in Harrisburg.
McCracken later made an official motion to pass the resolution, which was seconded by Scotto. It passed 2-1 with Sobel being the only opposing vote.