An effort to lay off 121 prison guards and scrap plans to build a new $65 million jail spurred a protest Tuesday in Cumberland County.
Members of PBA Local 231, which represents the corrections officers, protested in front of a county Democratic Committee meeting. The plan was to target two incumbent freeholders, both Democrats, running for reelection this year and demand they oppose a decision by county government to not build a new jail and seek to house prisoners in neighboring county jails.
“Laying off 10% of the county workforce in the midst of a pandemic is inexcusable,” said Victor Bermudez, the local PBA president. “Our members have heart, and they will fight till the end.”
Bermudez said the union targeted its protest on George Castellini and Carol Musso. The seven-member freeholder board includes six Democrats. It was not immediately clear if Castellini and Musso chose to support the corrections officers if it would change the decision to scrap the prison and layoff the guards.
“This is about tax dollars and doing our job,” Castellini said last month. “This is a difficult decision, but our county government is reacting to an unprecedented series of events, while our residents and businesses are facing devastating financial hardships. We have an obligation to all of our taxpayers to make fiscally responsible decisions now before we reach a point of no return on the jail construction.”
Castellini and Musso did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The plan for a new jail was launched in 2017 to replace an aging jail complex which consists of three separate buildings. Since then, officials said a dramatic decrease in detainees, in part from bail and criminal justice reform, has made the $65 million jail unnecessary and not cost effective.
The daily inmate population now of 234 is just over half of what it was in 2017. The county now plans to house its prisoners in jails in neighboring counties. Officials said about a quarter of jail capacity is unused in nearby counties.
The move is projected to save up to $10 million annually, county officials said.
“We have no interest in defunding law enforcement in our county, but we also have no interest in asking county taxpayers to fund a half empty correctional facility,” Freeholder Director Joseph Derella said.
But taxpayers are on the hook for $13.3 million already spent on the jail project, including a foundation that is laid. The county sent notice to the state last month of the pending layoff of 121 corrections workers. That action is expected to be complete on Nov. 3.
“The Democratic Party wants to take our jobs, benefits and pensions, and they want to do it during a pandemic,” Bermudez said.
County officials said they have not reached an agreement with a neighboring jail to house their inmates but remain hopeful they will.
Derella and other county officials said they believe the jail site can be repurposed for other use and their actions are needed to balance budgets affected by lost tax revenue during the state’s coronavirus pandemic response.
“I am confident that we will find a cost effective and beneficial use for the jail site, but most importantly, I am confident that this exhaustive review process will lead us to a decision that is in the best interest of the taxpayers of Cumberland County,” Derella said.
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Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com. Have a news tip or a story idea about New Jersey schools? Send it here.
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