Criminal justice price tag big ticket item for county
PENN TWP — Butler County commissioners presented a pulse check on the county and future hopes to a group of around 90 business-minded people Wednesday morning.
Embodying their belief in having a unified voice, Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche, the board chairman, did most of the talking to a breakfast crowd of business owners and entrepreneurs assembled at Butler Country Club. The event was hosted by the Butler County Chamber of Commerce.
The other two commissioners — Kim Geyer and Kevin Boozel — spoke periodically to expand on certain ideas. Also in attendance was Mark Gordon, the former general manager of AK Steel's Butler Works, who was hired last year to the head the county's economic development initiatives.
Butler County has its strengths, Osche and Gordon told the crowd — a valuable commercial corridor along Route 228 and rising housing values in tandem with an uptick in new building permits — but there's a lack of trained employees to fill new jobs, the addiction crisis continues and a multimillion dollar criminal justice system continues to weigh heavily on the county's budget.
In 2017, the county's net expense was $49,004,208, according to information provided Wednesday by the board — with public safety, human services and general government operations accounting for the majority of expenses.
Public safety is an umbrella term that includes the criminal justice apparatus and the county jail, probation services and police funding. Together, the criminal justice system accounts for a large part of expenditure, with $100 being spent a day per person incarcerated, Osche said.
From 2007 to 2013, the cost of justice and public safety rose 15.5 percent, according to data presented by Osche.
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