Commissioners discuss drug court program
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STEUBENVILLE -- Jefferson County's drug court program, according to coordinator Laura Trifonoff, is one the state encourages other counties to look at as an example.
The Jefferson County Commissioners, Thursday, heard from Trifonoff and approved the program's continued participation in a Targeted Community Alternatives to Prison Grant from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections Bureau of Community Sanctions.
The county program is set to receive $228,840 from the grant in the 2022-23 fiscal year. It also received funds in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 fiscal years.
"It greatly helps our department," she said.
Trifonoff said the grant helps fund items such as a court liaison, on-site drug screening, residential treatment services, salaries and electronic monitoring of defendants.
"The treatment in critical," Commissioner Tony Morelli said.
Trifonoff also noted the funds are one of several grant programs the drug court receives.
She said the program has a 40 percent success rate, which is far above the state average of 20 percent to 25 percent.
"We have been very lucky with the program," she said. "It's had its up and downs, but we work very hard as a team to get people where they need. We have a really great success rate with our clients who have graduated and I'm very proud of our program."
"That's got to be up there as one of the best in the country," Commissioner Thomas Graham said. "That's a very good success rate."
Commissioner Dave Maple cited concerns about the rising cost of operating courts and offered assistance from the board to the drug court program in terms of letters of support in regard to seeking additional funding and increases in grant amounts.
"I think what you're doing is fantastic," he said. "The grant dollars have stayed consistent, but costs are going up. The costs that keep really adding up and the cost falls back on the general fund.
"(ODRC) need to recognize the costs are going up. They need to look at improving the granting numbers. If you think there is a letter we could write or some way we can support your argument to need more money from that granting source, I would be very interested in helping get that in front of the right people."
Trifonoff said no county received an increase in the amount of their grant this year.
She said the county's program is considered one of Ohio's "mentor courts" and is recommended by the state Supreme Court. She said judges from other counties observe the program to start their own drug court programs.
"That is such good news," Graham said of the recognition from the state.
County 911 Director Rob Herrington asked to use C.A.R.E.S. Act funding to purchase a radio monitoring system for the county's emergency radio system.
The monitoring system, Herrington said, would monitor all of the more than 1,900 radios in use by emergency personnel across the county and give daily reports on the performance of the radios, notifying the 911 staff when a radio needs to be serviced for things like a bad antenna, out of tune transmitter, programming errors and battery issues.
Herrington said radios in the county are usually only maintenanced about every two years due to the time-consuming process with the large number of radios in use, and problem radios are typically only located when a problem arises or by chance.
"(Radios) are the biggest nightmare in our maintenance process," Herrington said. "Instead of going out and chasing these problems and finding them, really, randomly, this would tell us in an intelligent way you need to look at these radios because these are the ones that are having problems.
"We have an incredible system, this makes it even better."
He said the department tested the system and discovered an issue with a base radio at a fire house and even with his own personal portable radio.
The total cost of the project is $49,783.38. He noted the state is purchasing the equipment for its systems.
Herrington was commended for the way the 911 department operates and stays ahead of the curve on the latest technology. He also gave credit to the commissioners for their support and noted the public support for levies.
"We're lucky to have you in that position," Morelli said.
The board heard from county litter enforcement officer Brad Polaski and Anita Petrella of the JB Green Team.
Polaski presented quotes for a new truck to the board. He said the need for a vehicle is for safety reasons, as the current vehicle does not have and is not capable of having a divider to keep an individual being transported safely separate from him.
Polaski also submitted a request for a trailer to assist in removing large items and cleaning up problem sites.
The commissioners moved to send a letter to the Jefferson Belmont Solid Waste Authority Board, asking them to fund the purchases, which Maple noted they had previously done.
In a discussion with Petrella, Maple again brought up the topic of the JB Green Team paying the litter enforcement officer's salary.
Petrella said that the board has an attorney set to appear at its meeting in May to discuss the legalities of that before the board makes a decision.
Petrella noted that township cleanups are coming up on Thursdays starting next week and running through July 1, with a list of dates and locations available on the organization's website.
Steven Wilson of the Steubenville Branch of the NAACP discussed how the organization can work with the commissioners going forward. He noted the NAACP has met with Maple and Morelli and asked for a meeting with Graham to be arranged.
A motion was made by Maple to form a county diversity committee, with each commissioner to make three appointments.
Also on the agenda:
¯ The commissioners passed a resolution from the Regional Planning Commission recognizing April as Fair Housing Month.
¯A proclamation for the Department of Job and Family Services was passed, proclaiming April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month in the county. JFS Director Michelle Santin noted that April 14 is "wear blue day" for child abuse awareness.
¯The commissioners approved a request from Clerk of Courts Andrew Plesich for the clerk's office to install a machine that would allow people in line to take a number, similar to a system commonly used in the Department of Motor Vehicles offices. He said the office is one of the busiest in the courthouse, and the need for the system is due to confusion caused by people having to wait in the hallway due to restrictions on the number of people in the office at one time.
¯The commissioners approved the advertising of the county Road 30 slip repair project for bids for the engineer's department, estimated at $555,019, as well as eight contracts for the engineer for fuels, aggregates and materials, a project on county Road 14 and mowing services.
¯ The planned site visit to the Amsterdam Sewer Project that was set for Thursday was postponed one week due to the weather.