The Blair County Salary Board this week began taking a look at the long term staffing needs at the county prison, and in the process, created a position for a third deputy warden to oversee the facility’s daily operations.

Judge Daniel J. Milliron, the chairman of the prison board, requested the new position when he appeared before the salary board Thursday.

The new deputy warden will be in involved in hiring of staff, keeping track of employee’s hours, and discipline.

The judge said the prison administration wants these duties “centralized.”

Commissioner Bruce Erb, the chairman of the salary board, voted in favor of the new non-union position, which will pay an annual salary of between $41,000 and $45,000.

He said staff at the prison has been the subject of “too many committee meetings.”

The county prison, as far as administrative staff, is well under the norm of other counties he has studied, and he stated, “We need to beef up that end.”

The prison has struggled with staff turnover, and with overtime that has to be paid to maintain a full complement of officers for each shift.

The salary board, for instance, reviewed the overtime and comp time payroll for two pay periods in July.

That report showed that of the $93,892 paid for overtime on July 5 and July 19, more than $80,000 was allocated for the prison staff.

Other overtime payments went to employees of the 911 Center, the Domestic Re­lations office, Court Ad­ministration, the Juve­nile Probation Office, the Sheriff’s Department, the District Attorney’s Office and Children Youth and Families.

The 911 Center overtime cost came in second to the prison at $9,912.

Abbie Tate, the prison warden, said in hiring a new deputy warden, the prison is “trying to look at the big picture, the long term,” as attempts are made to improve the prison’s operations.

One of the more persistent questions facing the county facility over the years has been the number of officers that are needed.

Erb emphasized after the meeting that the complement of officers will be the subject of discussion as the Board of Commissioners pieces together it 2019 budget.

He said, “We need to stop the turnover.”

Blair County President Judge Elizabeth A. Doyle also appeared before the board to request an annual salary of $63,754 for the newly-appointed director of the Juvenile Probation Office, Jon Frank.

Frank, himself a longtime employee of the office, is filling the position left vacant by the retirement of Nancy Williams, who gave 43 years of service to the county.

The judge’s request ran into resistance from Blair County Human Resources Director Katherine W. Swigart, who was recommending the salary be slightly less.

Swigart said she has studied the wages paid to 14 other county department heads, taking into consideration the responsibility involved in their respective operations and their tenure with the county.

Doyle wanted to know the criteria that Swigart was using concerning the salary to be set for the director of the Juvenile Probation Office.

Swigart said she shares the criteria she uses with salary board members only.

Erb pointed out that when it comes to wages of court-related employees like Frank, Doyle is a voting member of the salary board.

With that, the board decided to table Doyle’s salary request to give her time to review the methods used by Swigart in coming up with a proposed wage under her $63,000 request.

Erb assured Doyle that, whatever wage is eventually established for the position, it will be retroactive to the date Frank assumed the job as director.

The board also voted to re-create several positions, including: a receptionist in the Costs and Fines Department; an advocate for the Victim/Witness Program; an administrative account assistant in the County Controller’s Department; and a caseworker for Children Youth and Services.

The board agreed to create a new fulltime clerk-typist position — eliminating a partime position — in the office of Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts, Robin Patton.