As reported by nj.com, a plan to close the Gloucester County jail and enter a shared services agreement with Cumberland County has some local law enforcement personnel, as well as those who work in and run Gloucester County’s jail, questioning and debating its supposed merits. It was announced Saturday that the two counties will work toward regionalizing their respective men’s county jail systems. The proposal has Gloucester County’s jail being closed, adult male inmates being sent to the Cumberland County Jail in Bridgeton and scaling back the amount of Gloucester County’s corrections officers by more than a third.

According to the Gloucester County Freeholder Board, the proposal, which they expect to vote on this Wednesday, could save nearly a quarter billion dollars over the life of the 25-year contract, as well as help reduce Cumberland County’s budget deficit. The net result could save Gloucester County $2 million this year, about $8.6 million next year, and more than $10 million in savings every year after that.

But for those who would be affected the most by this plan, the men and women serving as corrections officers and civilian personnel in the Gloucester County jail, the idea is one that they believe has not been fully thought out and one that not only put their jobs at stake, but also could become a public safety issue.

The Department of Corrections’ unions would like to see this plan looked at further and other options explored before it is finalized. “We would love to think they would want to work with us and see if any compromise can be made in Gloucester County,” Lt. Steven Newsom, the president of NJ FOP Lodge 165, which represents the jail’s superior officers, said. “We understand these fiscal times make us seek desperate measures. But safety should be a first priority.”

With regionalization, Gloucester County’s Department of Corrections employees are expected to be reduced to 33 uniformed officers, who will be used to transport inmates to and from court, the rest are expected to be laid off. The two counties have agreed that these individuals will be given an opportunity to apply for any positions that open up following the regionalization. But Gloucester County’s officers believe that the training they’ve received and the years of service, both on and off duty, should not be something discarded in a quick decision.

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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.