York County Prison seeks more part-time officers

• York County Prison warden seeking 12 additional part-time corrections officer positions.
• Positions used to be included in staff but have been cut over several years since 2011.
• Prison is ahead of projected budget spending because of the high number of overtime hours worked.

York County Prison employees have worked more overtime hours than expected this year, and the warden is hoping to hire more part-time corrections officers to compensate.

Warden Mary Sabol asked the county commissioners during Monday morning's salary board meeting to consider adding 12 part-time positions.

The 12 positions used to exist, Sabol said, but they have been cut for budgetary reasons over time since 2011.

The prison is currently allotted 386 full-time officers and 45 part-time officers, and Sabol said she believes the additional part-time employees will reduce the need for full-time officers to work overtime.

Sabol pointed to the snowstorm in January, when travel was restricted, and a small fire at a work release site as major reasons for the increase in overtime hours worked this year.

The prison has typically burned through approximately 50 percent of its budget by this time of the year, but Sabol said they are currently "significantly above" that percentage.

If the department goes over its expected budget, Sabol said, it would just affect the prison's general fund.

Sabol added that the additional part-time employees would have minimal impact on the budget because the positions don't include benefits and have lower wages than full-time employees.

Part-time corrections officers work approximately 16 hours per week but are required to complete the same training as full-time officers, she said.

Sabol said the prison has a large number of applications to sort through, and she's hoping to begin training a class of 21 officers in the fall. That class would include the additional 12 part-time officers and nine others to fill current vacancies.

The commissioners are expected to vote on Sabol's request Wednesday morning at their weekly meeting.

— Reach David Weissman at dweissman@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at @DispatchDavid.