Although the grant has been approved, the way the county intends to implement it has not, Sarcione said. He said he intends to hold a staff meeting next week to discuss these and other questions.
Last year, Sarcione and the commissioners argued strenuously against applying for an IPP grant. Sarcione said too many violent crimes were deemed eligible for the program, and the commissioners had worried about future funding of the initiative under a new administration. Both those concerns have been alleviated.
"We, as prosecutors, were concerned about the range of (eligible) crimes," Sarcione said. But with the elimination of offenses such as burglary, rape, stalking, sexual abuse and drug trafficking from the list, his office is prepared to support the project.
Common Pleas Court Judge Lawrence E. Wood, who was president judge at the time, argued last year that the county was being "penny-wise and pound- foolish" in its refusal to apply for the money. That view also was shared by the Adult Probation Office.
Commissioner Karen Martynick said the board was prepared to move ahead this year because of assurances from the Governor's Office that funding will continue. Martynick said the program's funding for drug and alcohol treatment is crucial to its success.
"We have a county prison that is filled to the maximum, so the IPP is about the only alternative," she said. "Regardless of your philosophy about doing jail time, we can quickly demonstrate the savings with this program."
Also set for approval next week is a deal that will keep in place a workhorse of the county's computer network for the next five years. For $446,879, the county will be able to double the capacity of a key Unisys machine that is used to process ballots and that serves as a back-up to all the other county computers in case of a disaster. The price includes a $60,000-a-year licensing fee due to Unisys, according to the contract.
