Luzerne County will continue using a Wilkes-Barre day reporting center for qualifying offenders, county council decided Tuesday.
Run by GEO Reentry Services, the county launched the day reporting program in 2010 to reduce county prison costs, overcrowding and inmate recidivism.
GEO also provides a drug and alcohol program for inmates in the county prison system.
Newly approved agreements will continue both services through 2028.
The reentry service center is housed in a commercial property at 125 N. Wilkes-Barre Blvd. It helps the county because participating offenders don’t have to be locked up at a higher cost as long as they complete customized programs and pass regular drug and alcohol tests.
An average 55 offenders participate in the reentry program each month, county Correctional Services Division Head James Wilbur said Tuesday.
In this statistical range, the county’s daily cost per participant will be $43.85 in 2026, $44.73 in 2027 and $45.62 in 2028.
The cost for the inmate substance use disorder counseling services will be $69,329 in 2026, $70,715 in 2027 and $72,130 in 2028.
All 10 council members in attendance on Tuesday approved both contracts. Councilwoman Joanna Bryn Smith was absent.
In other business Tuesday, council unanimously voted to:
• Transfer $382,000 in reserve funds and $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act interest earnings to the capital budget to fund projects the council had previously approved in the annual capital plan.
• Allow the county Treasurer’s Office to continue collecting Newport Township municipal real estate taxes. The township first obtained county approval to collect its taxes in 2015, following a vacancy in the elected collector post, and has asked the county to renew the agreement annually since then.
The county receives $2.60 per township bill, generating approximately $6,040 in revenue annually.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo also introduced a proposed ordinance that would impose a $100 fee on properties purchased in county delinquent tax auctions and mortgage foreclosure auctions to generate revenue for a new county demolition and rehabilitation fund.
Fee revenue would be deposited in a segregated interest-earning bank account. County Council could use the funds for county demolition and rehabilitation projects, and may award funds to municipalities, school districts, redevelopment authorities, land banks, and other nonprofit entities to demolish or rehabilitate blighted properties, the agenda said.
A public hearing and majority council vote would be necessary at a future meeting for the proposal to take effect.