BC Freeholder reports no jail vacancies

Burlington County Freeholder Director James K. Wujcik reported this week, that the county expects to have a full complement of 216 correction officers to staff its two jail facilities within the next two weeks.

Wujcik said the board has not only filled its outstanding 22 vacant positions from a Civil Service list supplied by the State on January 4th, but also expects to fill seven additional vacancies which have occurred since the end of 1999.

Beyond that, he said, the county will continue to process yet another 12 applicants to ensure there is a pool of eligible candidates who can be hired immediately when future vacancies occur.

"This underscores the freeholders' ongoing good faith commitment to address the overtime hours and other concerns which the officers have brought to the board," the freeholder director added.

Other steps the board has taken have included:

* the appropriation of $118,500 to supply all officers with fitted safety vests;

* the ongoing repair and correction of cited infrastructure problems within the Detention Facility in Mount Holly. On November 10, 1999, Wujcik and Freeholder Theresa D. Brown toured the facility and a list of needed repairs was put together; and,

* the modification of the County's contract offer to PBA Local 249 to provide for a higher starting salary for new officers and other upward scale adjustments.

Although the union rejected the county's new offer on January 7th, Wujcik said freeholders did modify their pending offer before an arbitrator to once again provide for a starting salary increase from $23,500 to $26,000.

"Our interest is the same as the officers, to improve the salary scale, especially at the lower- and mid-range levels, to better attract and retain experienced people," said Wujcik.

The most recent arbitration session was held on February 21st. The next session is expected to take place in four to six weeks. According to Management Specialist Augustus Mosca, the 22 jail vacancies went unfilled as a result of the county requesting, but not receiving, a new Civil Service list of eligible candidates since September of 1999. The list supplied to the county in January included the names of 208 individuals, all of whom were contacted. Of those, 73 responded, and indicated an interest in becoming a correctional officer.

However, said Mosca, all candidates are subject to a personal interview, a background check, a urinalysis, and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. The latter determines if an individual would be suited to work within a correctional setting.

Once hired, new officers are not only required to take four weeks of facility training, but also must attend a Correctional Officers Training Academy approved by the Police Training Commission.