Mercer state prison to stay open
Pennsylvania Representative Mark Longetti said, "we dodged a bullet" when he told 21 News that the state prison in Mercer County would be spared from the state budget chopping block.
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania Representative Mark Longetti said, "we dodged a bullet" when he told 21 News that the state prison in Mercer County would be spared from the state budget chopping block.
Longetti confirmed information obtained earlier Thursday from State Senator John Yudichak's office that the Department of Corrections will not close the State Correctional Institution at Mercer, or three others that were on a list for possible shutdowns.
Only SCI in Pittsburgh had been notified that it would be shutting down.
"When you look at the numbers, closing only the Pittsburgh facility achieves the level of savings sought by the state," said Longetti, who notes that shutting down Pittsburgh will save the Commonwealth $81 million.Closing SCI Mercer would have saved the state an estimated $46 million per year.
According to Governor Tom Wolf;s office, the Department of Corrections will begin the process to close SCI Pittsburgh by June 30.
"We must continue to pursue smart reforms that reduces the burden on taxpayers and protect our investments in education and drug treatment to keep people out of prison where we will spend $40,000 each to house, feed and care them," said Gov. Wolf in a statement.
Longetti called the success in saving SCI Mercer, "A collective effort that our case was heard."
The State Correctional Institution in Mercer County employs 413 people and houses 1,404 inmates.
The Department of Corrections announced earlier this month that a dire budget forecast forced cost-cutting measures that would mean the closing of two prisons in the state and cutting the number of inmates in half by June.
Other facilities that had been under consideration include SCI Retreat in Luzerne County, SCI Frackville in Schuylkll County, SCI Waymart in Wayne County.
Mercer has a minimum security population and staff that would be easily absorbed by other nearby facilities, causing the least amount of disruption, according to a state analysis.
Also, while the majority of Pennsylvania's prison population is from the eastern part of the state, SCI Mercer is in the western part of the state.
Reasons for not closing Mercer include the lowest inmate costs per year — the cost to house an inmate here is about $39,000 a year — as well as the expenditure of nearly $20 million on upgrades at the prison, which was built in 1978.
Finally, the Department of Corrections says closing Mercer would have the third highest impact on staff and inmates out of all five facilities under consideration
Three of the prisons that were under consideration for closing are more than half a century old. SCI Retreat was built in 1938, Waymart opened in 1912, and Pittsburgh is the oldest, having been in operation since 1882.
The decision was based on the ages, sizes, locations, operational costs, specialty functions of the prisons, as well as economic impact on the affected communities.
The Department of Corrections says every affected employee will be offered a position elsewhere in the department.
Mercer County Commissioner Scott Boyd has said that closing the Mercer SCI would not only be a significant setback for the county, but a blow to the local economy.
Boyd said 400 jobs would have been lost or relocated, contributing to a negative economic impact of as much as $52 million.
