County Mulls Commissary Change
In Pennsylvania, the DOC’s open bidding process for commissary goods is being studied by Luzerne County where no such competitive bids occur.
The state has a five-year contract with St. Louis-based Keefe Group as the primary vendor for commissary items and an annual contract with Miller Distribution for tobacco products, state corrections spokeswoman Sue McNaughton said. Both vendors were selected by competitive bid, McNaughton said. Luzerne County Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said that bolsters his argument that the county prison should bid commissary goods in an open, competitive process. County Solicitor Jim Blaum claims the prison is not required to bid commissary items because inmate money, not county money, is involved. Urban, one of five members on the county prison board, has argued bidding is legally required because prison employees are paid to run and operate the commissary inside the prison.
The County system seems to be profitable:
n December, the Luzerne County prison reported its commissary began the month with an inventory of $22,130 and paid $40,916 to add more goods that month. That month, the commissary had sales of $55,201 and a profit of $15,865.
The prison can mark up the price of items sold in the commissary by up to 15 percent, and profits pay for haircuts, cable TV, athletic equipment and other items for inmates, county prison Warden Gene Fischi said. The cable television in there, it calms them down,” he said at Monday’s prison board meeting. “Books, magazines, newspapers, haircuts. It pays for athletic equipment. All of this stuff would have to be paid for with taxpayer dollars if it didn’t make any profit.”
But the lack of competitive bidding has led to charges of favoritism and cronyism. See more from the Citizens Voice.