The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

November 22, 2009

UPDATE: COG seeks hike in lockup fees

By Joe Pinchot

MERCER COUNTY — Mercer County Regional Council of Governments is seeking to increase the assessments and hourly incarceration fees it charges at the two lockups it runs.

At Shenango Valley Regional Lockup, Farrell, that means $2,500 a year hikes for the major users, Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, Southwest Mercer County Regional police and Sharon police, who have been paying $25,000 a year. Hermitage police pay $18,000.

The hourly fee charged to police departments would go from $13 to $15.

Other departments also use the lockup, but they lodge few prisoners and only are charged the hourly fee.

At Greenville Regional Lockup, COG wants to institute assessments. Until now, the lockup has charged only incarceration fees.

“We need a guaranteed amount of revenue to build a budget around,” said COG Executive Director Thomas R. Tulip.

While the Shenango Valley lockup is staffed 24 hours a day, the Greenville lockup is open only as needed.

Tulip would not specify the proposed assessments. The incarceration fee hike would be the same as that proposed for the Shenango Valley.

Tulip said he is not proposing assessment increases in any of the other programs it oversees, or COG’s general administrative budget.

“Every other budget is holding the line,” he said. “Very lean, mean budgets.”

That doesn’t mean it’s been an easy budget year.

“I’m nearing five years here,” he said. “This has been by far the toughest budgets to work out.”

COG does not release copies of budgets until they are approved. The board meets Dec. 16 at Muscarella’s Cafe Italia, 500 Main St., in Sharpsville for budget adoption.

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