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Lebanon County Commissioners unanimously granted a request Thursday, May 21, to renew a contract for two juvenile beds at a detention center, but with varying terms due to budget constraints within Probation Services.
Probation Services director Audrey Fortna said the department has contracted for two beds over the past fiscal year but has been presented with budget challenges since then. Ongoing need, however, has led her to still request two beds, but one for a full-year term in the contract and the second for a six-month trial period.
“To be more financially responsible, I have requested that Abraxas Academy offers a six-month contract for the second contracted bed for Lebanon County. They have approved that request,” Fortna wrote in a pre-meeting memo to commissioners. “I know this request is a substantial financial commitment on behalf of the county, but it is also a commitment to community safety and to having a facility to place our high-risk youth when the need arises.”
In the memo she notes that the state stopped reimbursements due to “documented code violations” at Abraxas Academy, which contributed to fiscal issues within her departmental budget once state funding ended.
The letter states that first-time code offenders don’t normally have their license suspended, but that happened for Abraxas. However, Lebanon County was not required to move their youths that are housed there, which Fortna called “an anomaly” given the license suspension, which occurred between the end of 2025 and early 2026.
Non-reimbursement by the state caused her department to exceed by $1,000 its budgeted line item of $100,000 for those services as of the end of April. The budgetary year for Probation Services runs January through December, according to county administrator Jamie Wolgemuth.
Read More: (Sept. 2025) Lebanon County faces $5 million funding shortfall for one agency’s costs
Although that additional cost is beyond what was budgeted, Fortna said the overage is being offset by her department not being fully staffed.
“I am not ready at this point to concede that we are not in need of a second detention bed and I would like your permission to proceed again with a contract for two beds,” Fortna told commissioners.
Two beds are necessary, although they don’t always both need to be filled simultaneously, she explained.
“What we see is a fluctuation, and so when kids get in trouble they tend to do it in groups. And so we’ll have a spell where the beds are empty and then we’ll have some youth get in trouble and we will need more than what we actually have,” Fortna said. “For instance, last week we had the need for five. … It’s not a constant, it’s a very fluid need.”
She provided a list in the letter to commissioners of the types of charges that lead to juveniles being detained to ensure public safety. Charges vary from aggravated and simple assault to making terroristic threats and, in one case, the rape of a child.
“I did speak to Abraxas Academy and, in trying to find a balance between community safety and being fiscally responsible, I’ve asked them to change one of the contracts to a six-month period so that we could further test the waters and they’ve agreed to do that,” Fortna said. “So I would ask that you give me permission to sign a one-year contract for that first bed and then a six-month contract for the second bed so we can see how those stats go over the next six months.”
She also noted that from July 1 through May 18, her department had 10 detention admissions. The letter states that, “during this time, we utilized 308 days of detention for Lebanon County youth with an average length of stay per admission of 31 days per youth.”
Offenders are housed at the Abraxas facility in Morgantown and at Manor Detention in Ebensburg.
“I can also tell you since it has impacted my detention budget line in my juvenile probation budget, and it sounds bad when you look at the numbers,” Fortna said. “It is being offset by our staffing shortages in the department. … When you look at it in totality, it is not as bad (as) when you look at just that one line. So I do ask for your permission to proceed with two detention beds again.”
The cost charged per bed varies due to the nature of the crime and the level of service provided during a detention period. Wolgemuth noted that the highest bed cost is for an arsonist because they require 24/7 monitoring to prevent an incident occurring within the facility.
“It is a problem not only for Lebanon but in other counties across the state where the placement numbers are high and the costs are just staggering,” Wolgemuth said. “One of the reasons is supply and demand because there just aren’t enough detention beds that exist. Therefore, everyone’s vying for the few that exist and the price keeps rising as the need continues.”
Other business
In other business, commissioners voted unanimously to:
- Approve the 2026 Senior Farmers Market Nutrition program agreement for the Lebanon County Department of Aging.
- Name three people to the Lebanon County Area Agency on Aging advisory board. They are Teresa Hildebrandt and Timothy George, both retirees/consumers, and Theresa Bozman, plus WellSpan Hospital.
- Accept the treasurer’s report, including a beginning balance of cash receipts that started at $8,609,531.46, plus receipts of $2,437,662.42, for a new cash balance of $11,131,193.88, less expenditures of $3,551,7508 and tax claim balance of $141,727,36 for an ending cash balance of $7,437,715.
- Receive a first quarter report from Stifel, the Lebanon-based financial firm that invests funds, including the county’s retirement fund.
- Pay Myerstown-based Force for work performed in connection with the upcoming AmericaPA250 celebration in the amount of $10,824.67. It was stated that the work was performed at cost, meaning the company makes no profit on the project.
- Agree to submit a loss prevention grant application to PCoRP, which provides the county its insurance, for a package of defibrillators. The four defibrillators in the package, which will cost $7,014.03, will replace expired models that are outside the sheriff’s office, in the second floor hallway, central booking, and at the Department of Emergency Services.
- Fill six vacancies on the Lebanon County Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities/Early Intervention’s advisory board. The new members are Jamie Zombro, Ashlee Homer, Dr. Mikaila Lugo-Schlegel, Elspeth Sarro, Brandi Gladfelter, and Max Myers.
- Accept the resignation of Dr. Michael Fry after more than 30 years on the Lebanon County Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse advisory council. His term was scheduled to expire on Feb. 19, 2028. The executive director noted in a letter there are now five vacancies on the advisory council.
- Give real estate tax exemptions to nine fully disabled veterans or their families.
- Grant numerous personnel transactions through the Human Resources department.
- Approve the minutes of their May 7 meeting and May 19 executive session.
Next meeting
Lebanon County Commissioners meet the first and third Thursday of each month at 9:30 a.m. in room 207 of the municipal building at 400 S. 8th St., Lebanon. The next meeting is scheduled for June 4.
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