Citizen Portal
Sign In

Commissioners approve routine resolutions, table one contract; prison phone and video rates to drop under ViaPath amendment

Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners · March 20, 2026

Loading...

AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

At its March 4 meeting the Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners approved multiple resolutions including payables, a GED contract extension, a ViaPath amendment reducing inmate phone and video rates to reflect FCC rules, IT hardware procurement, arts grants and multiple appointments; one resolution was tabled at the solicitor's request.

The Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners on March 4 approved a series of routine resolutions covering payables, contracts, grants and appointments and tabled one contract for further legal review.

The board approved Resolution 26-0063 to clear current payables, with county staff listing general-fund check ranges and electronic fund transfers. Commissioners approved Resolution 26-0056 to enter into or extend an agreement with Outreach Center for Community Services to provide GED classes at the county prison through 12/31/2028; Warden Tim Betty said 29 individuals currently participate in the program.

In Resolution 26-0058 the commissioners approved a fifth amendment to the inmate communications services agreement with ViaPath Technologies (formerly GTL) to reflect FCC-mandated rate changes effective April 6, 2026. Warden Tim Betty told the board that phone calls will drop from $0.21 per minute to $0.02 and video visitation from $0.25 per minute to $0.02.

The board accepted a Presidio quote for IT hardware for prison use (Resolution 26-0060) after an information-technology presentation from Deputy Director Kim Kelly about using a Palo Alto private-browser approach to strengthen security. Commissioners also approved Resolution 26-0062 awarding one-time America250PA arts and cultural grants to 31 municipalities (up to $1,000 each) and appointed members to the Area Agency on Aging Advisory Board (Resolution 26-0061) and to the workforce development board (Resolution 26-0064).

One resolution (26-0057) was tabled after the county solicitor, Attorney Walker, said contract language needed additional work; the board voted to table it until a future meeting. Several approvals were voice votes recorded as "Aye."