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Blair’s sheriff wrapping up career as county servant

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Blair County Sheriff Mitch Cooper looks at warrants with office manager Bonnie Schreiber recently.

HOLLIDAYSBURG — When Mitch Cooper, a retired Altoona deputy police chief, took over as Blair County sheriff in January 2010, he said he was “ready to jump in with both feet at full speed to become an effective sheriff.”

Seven years later, Cooper said he’s pleased with the department and how the staff handles day-to-day tasks.

“It really is the office staff and the deputies who keep the department running,” Cooper said. “And I can assure the citizens of the Blair County that they’re getting their money’s worth with this staff.”

Cooper, who sought re-election to his second term three years ago, is stepping down as sheriff today, about a year before his term expires.

The decision to leave early is based on timing, Cooper said, so he can devote time to starting a business linked to his work as an examiner for administering lie detection tests. The sheriff said he has been thinking awhile about starting the business, which will require his time and effort.

“I didn’t think it would be right to collect a paycheck from the county while my attention is focused on it,” Cooper said.

Another reason for the early resignation, the sheriff added, is the freedom it will provide for travel to Florida where he can spend time with his sons.

In the last seven years, the sheriff’s office has gone through a lot of changes.

Most noticeably, the office that used to be crammed into a portion of the courthouse basement is now on the first floor, a move that positioned the department near the front door where deputies run a security screening checkpoint.

Staff has changed, too.

When Cooper took over the office, he said started with 31 employees, which was scaled down to 30 when an office employee wasn’t replaced. Of the 30, eight — six deputies and two office employees — remain on the staff from when Cooper became sheriff.

Cooper said the department continues to experience turnover because of local job opportunities.

“When they’re starting out at $11 an hour … I can’t compete when a deputy tells them they have a job offer at $20 an hour,” he said.

But Cooper was able to address a factor contributing to turnover.

When he took office, the majority of his deputies were part time, reflecting the county’s long-standing practice of trying to keep down personnel costs and avoid the cost of benefits, especially hospitalization. But to get the job done, the part-time deputies were working extensive hours and racking up overtime pay that had long been a controversy for the department.

In late 2012, Cooper convinced commissioners to convert all part-time deputies to full time. While that made the deputies eligible for benefits, it allowed Cooper to have greater control over their schedules and reduce overtime.

Cooper also achieved success with the pursuit of better vehicles for his department.

“The fleet of cars were in terrible shape when I took office,” Cooper said.

Their condition reflected not only high mileage from extensive use but also the county’s past practice of making infrequent purchases of used vehicles for the department.

“That first year was tough,” Cooper said. “I was afraid to send some of those vehicles out on the road because when there’s a breakdown, that causes issues … with towing, custody of the inmate, how to get the deputy back.”

Cooper said he sat down with commissioners and showed them how the department’s service of civil court papers was bringing in $240,000 annually, enough to support regularly buying a new vehicle for the department.

At the same time of that pursuit, the department increased its reliance on the state Department of Correction’s transportation system. While the use requires a two-week notice, the state will transport inmates from state prisons to the State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon at a cost of 13 cents per mile. Then Blair County deputies, Cooper said, can transport inmates between Huntingdon and Hollidaysburg for Blair County court proceedings.

That saves time in addition to wear and tear on vehicles, the sheriff said.

Cooper’s pursuits were well-received and garnered support, Commissioner Terry Tomassetti said, because he provided commissioners with information and financial data to justify what he wanted to do.

“His experience at the Altoona Police Department, as an officer and a deputy chief, were clearly a benefit in his ability to organize that office for better service of our courts and our community,” Tomassetti said.

Cooper said that he drew on his experience in the APD to divide the county into four geographic zones and assign deputies to serve civil papers and warrants in each. He also added deputies to the bench warrant team and expanded their hours to include evenings and weekends.

That kind of effort, Tomassetti said, helped Cooper build credibility and support for the department.

“He provided information and he performed,” Tomassetti said. “When you put those things together, we could see that work got done and got done the right way.”

Office manager Bonnie Schreiber describes Cooper as a fair person and a fair boss.

Cooper praises Schreiber as the person who holds the office together.

“He’s very nice to work for,” Schreiber said. “And he always stood up for us, always backed us.”

Cooper also helped the department acquire Lily, a bomb-sniffing dog who has proven to be valuable.

While prior commissioners rejected the idea of acquiring a drug-sniffing dog because of liability and expense, Cooper worked on a plan to secure Lily at no expense to the county, thereby winning commissioners’ support.

“She’s been used repeatedly in the courthouse to check out packages, boxes left in hallways, and she’s helped out in schools,” Cooper said.

Commissioner Bruce Erb, who is finishing his first year in office, praised and thanked Cooper at the end of a recent meeting of the county prison board, which Cooper has been chairing.

“You’re so engaged and innovative,” Erb said. “You’re not afraid to stand up and try something different and see if it works.”

Blair County Judge Daniel Milliron, who has worked with Cooper on prison- and inmate-related issues, expressed similar sentiment and led a standing ovation to recognize the sheriff.

“Words can’t express what you’ve been able to help me do,” Warden Michael Johnston told Cooper.

Tomassetti said Cooper is well deserving of praise for the job he’s done.

“Through his recommendations and management, Mitch has brought a level of professionalism and service to that office which should be the standard for Blair County sheriffs going forward,” Tomassetti said.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.

 


The Cooper file

Name: Mitch Cooper

Position: Blair County sheriff

Age: 62

Family: Wife, Gina, married 36 years; daughter, Kelly, and husband, Damon Brunhuber, of Altoona; and twin sons: Patrick Cooper and Mark Cooper and wife, Bell, all of Boca Raton, Fla.

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