The Schuylkill County Board of Commissioners will vote next week on a professional services agreement with Service Access & Management Inc. that will essentially transfer the management of nine county positions in the business office at Rest Haven.
"We did explore our options and this one was very attractive to us," Commissioner Chairman Frank J. Staudenmeier said. "It was a very difficult decision, but it was something that we absolutely needed to do."
If approved, the $730,000 annual agreement will last from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2015. The nine employees will remain in their positions, but will work for SAM instead of the county.
Staudenmeier noted that Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed 2012-13 budget calls for a 20 percent cut of funding for mental health and developmental services.
"With the recent loss of Saint Catherine Medical Center, it is important that we do all we can to keep Rest Haven open (as a long-term care facility)."
Staudenmeier also said SAM has more flexibility with marketing for the nursing home than the county.
"I think that this a win/win for the county and Rest Haven as well as the employees and residents of this county," Commissioner Gary J. Hess said. SAM, a not-for-profit human services organization based in Reading, has partnered with the county since 2004 in providing services for Mental Health/Developmental Services Office and already started the construction of a $2.3 million building for a Schuylkill office in Pottsville. An official ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for Friday.
"We have a good corporate partnership with SAM in the community and I only see it getting better," Commissioner George F. Halcovage said.
Rest Haven currently has 127 employees, with 98 in full-time and 29 in part-time positions. The 142-bed facility has a 2012 budget of $12,001,414. Staudenemeier said there was approximately 22 empty beds at the facility, but that number changes daily.
During the work session Wednesday, the board eliminated the office of the jury commissioner. A jury commissioner is assigned to oversee the jury selection process. Edward Kleha and Peggy Zimmerman will finish their four-year term as current jury commissioners through Jan. 1, 2014, but the position will not be placed on future election ballots.
Corbett signed House Bill 1644 on Dec. 15, 2011, giving county commissioners the authority to abolish the office with majority vote. The office has been eliminated in many counties throughout the state as a way to reduce costs.
The move will save the county about $26,000 annually.
The board also approved a cooperation agreement with Schuylkill Community Action for the administration of the 2010 Home Grant Contract in the amount of $500,000. The program will provide housing rehabilitation assistance to about 22 lower-income households in the county.
The commissioners also approved an agreement with PPL Energy Plus, Allentown, to provide power to the Schuylkill County 911 services office in Pottsville, and the tower sites in Burma, Keffers, Blue Mountain, Pine Grove and Park Place. The agreement will be effective from June 2012 through May 2014. The agreement will be paid out of the 911 budget.
Also during the work session, the board of commissioners issued a proclaimed the week of May 6 through May 12 as "Corrections Employee Week," recognizing the more than 30,000 corrections professionals throughout the state.
The commissioners' public meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, in the Minersville Area High School Auditorium to honor this year's scholar athlete.