The Butler County Prison Board is facing cost increases for security systems in the prison and a loss in revenue from the inmate phone and video visitation services.

At the board meeting Tuesday, Feb. 17, Warden Beau Sneddon said the warranty on the prison’s two Tek 84 body scanners is about to expire and the company offered two options for five-year service agreements.

One options is a single, up-front payment of $96,660. The second is $21,480 per year, which equals $107,400, he said.

Sneddon said he contacted other prisons that use body scanners, including some other brands, and found the costs they pay to be comparable.

“I was shocked,” Sneddon said.

Board members seemed to favor the $96,660 up-front payment option. Sneddon said he will get a formal proposal from the company.

A new rule going into effect April 6 from the Federal Communications Commission will greatly reduce the commission the county makes from the inmate phone and video visitation systems.

Sneddon said the county now charges inmates 21 cents per minute for phone calls and keeps 80%, or about 16 cents, as commission.

The new FCC rule limits the amount counties can charge to 12 cents per minute and reduces the commission counties can keep to 2 cents, he said.

The county’s commission has to be taken from the amount the county charges inmates to use the phone, he added.

In January, he said there were $29,003 in billable hours from phone use, and the county’s commission was $23,202.

If the new rates had been in place then, total billable hours would have been $16,656 and the county’s commission would have been $2,776, he said.

The rule change also will increase the fee the county pays the phone contractor, Smart Communications, to 10 cents per call from 5 cents per call, Sneddon said.

The fee and commission changes from FCC also will impact video visitation service provided by Smart Communications, but additional details were not available Tuesday.

Sneddon said the county’s commission from video visitations was $11,038 in January.

He said he believes the FCC is implementing those changes because prisons in rural counties and in the midwest have been “thumping these people with these huge rates that are much higher than you would pay.”

With the county’s contract with Smart Communications about to expire, Sheriff Mike Slupe, who serves as board president, suggested the county issue a request for proposals from contractors.

The company managing the prison’s system that controls security doors and cameras also is raising prices.

Cornerstone’s proposed service agreement will cost $20,870 this year and $21,288 next year.

“It’s gone up substantially over the years. In 2023, we were only paying $12,980. It’s almost double,” Sneddon said.

He said the system has been upgraded over the years and works well.

“Being with the upgrades that we made, the service is obviously more expensive than it used to be,” he said.

The board approved the agreement, which will go before the county commissioners for final approval.

In other business, Sneddon recognized corrections officers and a health care contractor employee.

Officers Chad Neigh, Abby McCandless and Asyah Hussin, Sgt. Matt Wagner, treatment services and compliance manager Matt Clayton and Cindy McCrea, a mental health care professional with PrimeCare Medical Inc., were commended for assisting an inmate in December.

Sneddon said the inmate faced a difficult set of circumstances that included serious mental health challenges and a complex legal situation.

Sneddon commended the employees for “exercising great professionalism, patience, outside-the-box thinking and kindness by working together to find a solution to this inmate’s problems and ultimately getting them the help that they needed.”

The warden also recognized Capts. Shaun Smith and Jordan Popinski for completing the renewal for the Butler County Prison Correctional Officer Basic Training Program.

“This is an incredibly involved process that requires an extensive review of all of our policies and training curriculum by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. When I received notification that our renewal was approved, the DOC was very complimentary of the preparedness and professionalism of Capt. Smith and Capt. Popinski,” Sneddon said.