CLEARFIELD – Staffing shortages were blamed for most problems found during a recent state inspection of Clearfield County Jail during Tuesday’s Prison Board meeting.
The jail has lost seven deputy wardens in a two-year period, and currently is down six full-time corrections officers.
And now the Department of Corrections finds it problematic, for example, that the jail lacks a training officer and maintenance.
President Judge Fredric Ammerman noted the jail has never had a training officer, and questioned why it was now non-compliant.
“If you’re short five and six COs, you’re running with a barebones staff; so, when is there even time to send people for training?”
Commissioner Dave Glass said it becomes a vicious cycle, which is why the county raised the starting and second-year wages of COs.
But he said there has to be qualified applicants who actually show for an interview. “It’s not just a county problem, but everywhere.”
The jail must also develop a master key log and better organize its tool room, which typically fall on the shoulders of maintenance.
However, the county’s had absolutely no luck with hiring a maintenance staff for two years, Ammerman said.
The DOC was particularly harsh because staff – outside of maintenance – have access to the tool room.
“But when you don’t have a maintenance person and something breaks, we have COs go in and fix it,” said Warden David Kessling.
He said the jail will remain non-compliant until this position is filled because he’s had no luck finding people to complete repairs.
Glass said he didn’t know what more the county could do, and Ammerman replied that it’d just have to show the DOC its efforts.
“The warden inherited an awful a lot of these problems,” said Glass. “Then, the COVID pandemic hit on top of it.
“He’s really been working behind the eight-ball … because some of these issues have been going on for a long time.”
District Attorney Ryan Sayers interjected, saying he wouldn’t use the word “some,” but “most, if not all.”
Ammerman said even the commissioners inherited a lot of jail maintenance problems. “It goes back many, many years.”
Glass said that became obvious when the county began the current renovation project, but it’s time to move forward.
“The warden has a good plan of action, I think, and the commissioners are also trying to take proactive steps.
“We took care of the big things like the roof, heating and cooling and plumbing so now we can take care of some other things.
“We have – literally – been worrying about maintenance for two-and-a-half years and will continue to worry about it.”
Ammerman blamed a lot of problems on the lack of staff like losing seven deputy wardens in two years.
“There’s been a lot of pressure on [Kessling] to wear about six or seven hats and he responded to the DOC the best he could.”
“I think we need to get a maintenance person, a deputy warden and our CO staff up to a full contingent. These are the problems.”
Sayers agreed. It was a staffing problem.
“If he (Kessling) didn’t have to put out little fires every day, this report is significantly different, if not, completely in compliance.
“He would have dealt with a lot of these things if he had the staff and time to do it.”