Wilmington City Council passes a resolution requesting the Plummer Community Corrections Center stay open.
Plummer houses men sentenced to Level 4 community corrections supervision, and it allows residents to participate in a work release program.
With the state preparing to close it in March, Plummer residents will be sent downstate according to the Delaware Department of Correction.
"They did their time. They're coming home to a work release program trying to reintegrate back into society, and then we're going to ship them down to Sussex County, disconnected away from their family and a culture. And we're gonna be frank here, Sussex County, we all know Sussex County is super racist. We know Sussex County has a different culture. We know that they treat Wilmingtonians different," said Wilmington City Councilmember Shané Darby.
Darby notes council wasn’t part of the decision making process, a process that started over a year ago when current Mayor John Carney was governor.
Darby adds she has filed FOIA requests to get to the bottom of the decision making process.
"It was very disappointing that we had to hear from the community first, and they didn't hear from us,” said City Council President Trippi Congo. “We weren't even included in the conversation around the closing of the Plummer Center."
Congo notes State Senator Ray Seigfried’s comments during public comments at the council meeting saying there is money in the budget to keep Plummer open.
He commended Seigfried for speaking up as the decision to close Plummer has been said to be a financial one.
Congo questioned the motives of the closure, and hopes more answers about the move eventually come out.
The resolution approved by a 9-0 vote with four absent says Plummer plays a vital role in reducing recidivism, calling it an essential facility in the state’s correctional system.
