Camden-led plan pitches regional rehabilitation and reentry center; Atlantic County told to weigh costs, governance and local impacts

Camden County officials and consultant Carter Goble Lee presented a plan for a Southern New Jersey Regional Rehabilitation and Reentry Center that would replace aging county jails by consolidating services across Atlantic, Camden and Cumberland counties.

The presentation, introduced by Camden County administrator Rock Ross and delivered by CGL program director Ed Wadley and his team, said the proposed authority would design, build and operate a facility intended to focus on rehabilitation and reentry, reduce incidents of violence, and improve staff working conditions. The presenters projected a first-year total operating cost for the three-county facility of about $238 million and an Atlantic County share in year one of around $86 million; the model assumes an average daily population across the three counties near 1,896 and a projected cost per detainee of about $344.51 per day.

Why it matters: Commissioners heard the argument that a regional approach could lower long-term per‑detainee costs compared with each county building and operating its own modern facility and could speed delivery through shared planning and state support. Presenters also said the project would move many jail-related costs off individual county levies to the newly created authority and that, under the applicable rehabilitation-and-reentry law referenced in the presentation, counties would have proportional representation on the authority board.

What the presenters said: Ross and the CGL team said economies of scale could reduce capital and operating dollars per bed, that a modern facility would improve constitutional compliance (medical infirmary, mental‑health and reentry services), and that the consortium model would help staffing and recruitment. They estimated the center could open in the first or second quarter of 2030–31 if counties move from aggregation to planning and construction.

Commissioner questions and outstanding details: Commissioners repeatedly asked for a baseline, county-specific comparison that lists current direct and indirect costs, projected costs to build and operate an Atlantic County–only facility, and the projected Atlantic County cost if it joined the regional authority. Commissioners pressed for clarity on governance (who sits on the authority board, how taxation and billing would be administered, and whether counties would retain control over employee pensions and positions). Presenters said many items remain in the programmatic stage and recommended further vetting in the county’s jail committee, where more detailed cost models, governance documents and contractual protections (including staff transition provisions) could be produced.

Public reaction and next steps: Hamilton-area residents and municipal leaders pressed the board to hold community briefings in directly affected towns and asked how property taxes and local impacts would be handled. Commissioners directed that the topic be referred to the jail committee for additional due diligence. No vote to join the regional authority was taken; commissioners requested more detailed, Atlantic County–specific analyses before any commitment.

Provenance: Presentation and Q&A (topic intro SEG 759 to topic finish SEG 2316).