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New video system up, running next week in Youngstown court
YOUNGSTOWN
A new $22,000 video- arraignment system for the Youngstown Municipal Court will be up and running Monday.
That’s the day the Mahoning County sheriff’s department will stop providing video-arraignment services at the county jail for city prisoners.
Sheriff Randall Welling-ton blames insufficient staffing and inadequate funding for the move.
One funding source — billing Youngstown for inmate stays for those charged solely under city ordinances — has been untapped for the past two years, however.
As county officials review records for the past two years, it appears confusion is the reason the city hasn’t been billed for what is estimated to be about $350,000.
The city’s law department sent a letter about two years ago to the county prosecutor’s office asking about the cost of city prisoners, said Anthony Farris, Youngstown law director.
Farris said he never received a reply.
County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains said he doesn’t recall the letter, but there would be no reason to respond. The standard fee under state law is about $80 a day per prisoner.
Wellington said after speaking with the prosecutor’s office two years ago, he said Gains’ office told him not to bill the city.
Gains said he never said that, however.
Gains said Wellington gave him a sample letter he was going to send to the city for prisoner fees that included the phrase “on the advice of the county prosecutor.”
“I told [Wellington] to take that out, and just bill them,” Gains said. “I told him that if he needed to send a bill, to send a bill. I asked, ‘Why are you putting on my advice when it’s the state law?’ I never told him not to bill them. Maybe he or his staff misunderstood.”
If the city receives a bill for the past two years, Farris and Mayor Charles Sammarone said they’d review it and if money is owed, the city would pay it.
“If we owe them any money, let us know,” Sammarone said. “If we owe a bill, we’ll pay it. We’re no different than anybody else.”
On Wednesday, city council agreed to use $22,000 from the municipal court’s computerization fund to hire SKC Communications Products LLC of Shawnee Mission, Kan., for the video-arraignment system. That court fund gets its money from assessments added to court fines.
The city is also spending about $2,000 for 20 new sets of waist shackles and improved lighting on the police department’s fifth floor, the former city jail. That floor will be the holding area for prisoners being video-arraigned in city court.
Prisoners being arraigned in Youngstown would be transported to and from the county jail by city police to the police station on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The new system, the chief said, will require the police to take one officer off patrol for about six hours a week to join three officers who are already responsible for transporting prisoners for preliminary hearings, trials and probation-violating hearings.
City council members said they were disappointed that not only is the sheriff discontinuing video arraignments, but city police must bring prisoners to the police station rather than be permitted to stay at the county jail.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Councilman Paul Drennen, D-5th. “We’re supposed to be working together.”
Councilman Nate Pinkard, D-3rd, chairman of the legislative body’s safety committee, said, “I’m not satisfied this couldn’t be worked out with the sheriff, but I have to commend the judges and the police chief with coming up with a good alternative plan.”