By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
SPOTSWOOD — The Borough Council has passed a resolution that will allow the continued use of prison inmates for borough services such as leaf pickups and garbage collections.
The resolution, approved Aug. 5, authorized Mayor Barry Zagnit to sign an agreement with Middlesex County providing for its adult corrections inmates to perform labor for the benefit of the borough.
Zagnit said Spotswood has been using the inmates from the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center, North Brunswick, for at least 10 years.
"They work with the road department doing street repairs," he said. "They also do garbage collection. They cut grass, collect leaves."
The savings to the borough are significant, he said.
"It’s a very valuable program to us," he said. "It supplies a lot of manpower at no cost to the taxpayer."
The borough uses an average of three or four of the inmates on a given weekday. The workers are supervised.
"We look at it as saving us taxpayer dollars," he said. "We’re a small town with a high tax rate. Personnel costs are one of our biggest expenses, so this is a significant cost-saver for us."
The inmate program also gives the borough the ability to use its own employees in different ways.
"It allows us to free people up to cover other tasks," he said.
Zagnit said the inmates, all of whom are men, arrive around 7 a.m. and work until about 3 p.m., with a break for lunch.
He said the inmates are not considered dangerous criminals.
"There are no violent offenders or Megan’s Law offenders," he said.
Most are soon-to-be released and are not considered escape risks. He said they are being rewarded for good behavior by the jail.
"They feel these people are working towards rehabilitation," the mayor said.
He described the relationship as mutually beneficial.
"It’s a two-way street. Obviously, it helps the municipality because it gives us workers and manpower at no cost," he said. "But it gives the prisoner the ability to get out and be productive and earn privileges in the institution. They get used to the daily routine of working, contributing and being productive."

