Schuylkill County Prison is likely going to need some new kitchen equipment this year.
At the January meeting of the Schuylkill County Prison Board last week, Warden Michael Buchanan said a lot of the equipment at the Pottsville lock-up is aging and not functioning well.
He prepared board members for some incoming expense requests from vendor Hobart for new equipment.
Schuylkill County Prison Expenses – December 2025
Also at the January meeting, Buchanan delivered his monthly State of the Prison report, highlighting revenues and expenses at the facility.
In December, the County Prison brought in $287,322.30 in revenue. That figure includes $259,201.78 in reimbursed expenditures. Going out was more than $720,043.81 in expenses.
| Expenditure Category | Amount |
| Salary – Department Head | $7,307.69 |
| Salaries – Deputies and Assistants | $71,094.61 |
| Wages – Deputies and Assistants | $4,451.89 |
| Salaries – Clerical Staff | $3,418.08 |
| Wages – Regular Employees | $247,311.24 |
| Wages – Regular Part Time | $6,695.29 |
| Wages – Overtime | $79,582.74 |
| In Lieu of Benefits | $420.00 |
| Materials & Supplies | $5,037.57 |
| Groceries | $48,142.20 |
| Clothing and Bedding | $766.80 |
| Cleaning Supplies | $1,452.32 |
| Fuel, Electric, Water, & Sewer | $20,781.36 |
| Temporary Housing | $154,034.03 |
| Professional Services | $348.84 |
| Non-Payroll Commissions | $850.25 |
| Inmate Wages | $556.00 |
| MAT Program | $5,928.96 |
| Maintenance & Repairs | $4,832.82 |
| Maintenance Agreements | $3,381.44 |
| Capital Building Improvement | $53,599.68 |
| Pre-employment Physicals | $50.00 |
| Total Expenditures | $720,043.81 |
Schuylkill County Prison Expenses – 2025
With the year 2025 in the books, we can now look back at the total reported expenses from Schuylkill County Prison for all of 2025. In total, based on information included in County Prison Board reports, the County spent just north of $10.3 million at the facility last year.
Here is a monthly breakdown of those expenses:
| Month | Prison Expenses |
| January | $ 834,937.43 |
| February | $ 668,321.56 |
| March | $ 566,546.53 |
| April | $ 622,170.14 |
| May | $ 597,626.65 |
| June | $ 1,064,416.31 |
| July | $ 1,342,755.06 |
| August | $ 864,928.37 |
| September | $ 761,746.11 |
| October | $ 1,052,571.78 |
| November | $ 1,204,772.28 |
| December | $ 720,043.81 |
| TOTAL | $ 10,300,836.03 |
Budget Impact: The County Prison is the second-biggest line item in the 2026 Schuylkill County government budget.
After requesting $11,499,319 at the start of budgeting for this year, the Prison was given a budget of $10,556,297 in the final approved spending plan for 2026.
Temporary Housing
There were currently no triple-cell housing arrangements at the prison, as of last week’s Prison Board meeting. At that time, 56 inmates were being held at other counties’ prisons including 47 at Northumberland, 6 at Centre, and 3 at Clinton.
For all of 2025, Schuylkill County spent a little more than $828,000 housing inmates at facilities outside the one in Pottsville. That’s a fraction more than 8% of the entire County Prison’s expenses last year.
| Month | Temporary Housing $ |
| January | N/A |
| February | $ 69,704.86 |
| March | $ 49,662.68 |
| April | $ 59,846.22 |
| May | $ 45,858.59 |
| June | $ 12,330.44 |
| July | $ 87,634.97 |
| August | $ 62,766.00 |
| September | $ 84,024.00 |
| October | $ 104,348.00 |
| November | $ 98,579.38 |
| December | $ 154,034.03 |
| TOTAL | $ 828,789.17 |
NOTE: Coal Region Canary tracks spending at Schuylkill County Prison by gathering information from public reports and internal research.
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