Kline to resign as Clerk of Courts on Feb. 19, begin new job as jail warden

When Bryan Kline became the Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts more than a decade ago, he was the first Republican elected to a courthouse row office job in more than a half-century.

After serving 11 years, Kline will step down Feb. 19 to become warden at the Westmoreland County Prison.

Kline, 40, of Penn Township will begin work overseeing the county jail Feb. 22. On Thursday, the county’s salary board voted 3-1 to set his annual salary at $79,451. Commissioner Gina Cerilli, who voted this week to hire Kline, opposed the salary package as well as a $3,200 raise for Deputy Warden George Lowther. He has served as the jail’s interim warden since November and was runner-up for the permanent job.

Cerilli, who cast her vote by phone, did not respond to requests for comment.

Kline on Thursday touted his work as the Clerk of Courts in which he oversees all criminal court documents filed at the courthouse. He set up and presided over hearings for defendants in arrears of restitution and fine payments, and last year launched a mobile app that provides access to court records to make online payments.

“I enjoy working in the criminal justice field, and I have passion for the criminal justice field,” Kline said of his new job. “It was a difficult decision to make, and I enjoyed serving in this capacity.”

Since first taking office, Kline has received a master’s degree in public policy from California University of Pennsylvania and is finishing a doctorate in criminal justice through an online program with St. Leo University in Florida. His dissertation will focus on reentry programs for prison inmates to prepare them to be released back into society, a topic county commissioners noted when they offered him the warden’s job.

Kline said that among his first objectives will be to beef up the county’s reentry programs, such as education and job training for inmates, to reduce a growing recidivism rate.

“We will look at evidence-based practices that are effective and hopefully we will have the ability to incorporate some of those programs,” Kline said. “Obviously, there is a price tag to do that on the front end, but there will be a savings on the back end.”

Kline will take over a jail that has been on lockdown for the last several months during a coronavirus outbreak that infected more than 100 inmates and dozens of guards. The lockup has also dealt with staff turnover and personnel challenges that preceded the resignation last year of longtime Warden John Walton.

Replacing a veteran leader is nothing new to Kline.

Kline was a 28-year-old political newcomer in 2009 when he upset Democrat Dave Patterson, who had been in office for two decades.

Kline’s term expires at the end of this year, and the office will appear on the election ballot in 2021.

Kline’s chief deputy Megan Loughner, 35, of Unity will take over as the interim Clerk of Courts until a replacement is named by Gov. Tom Wolf. Loughner, a Republican, came to work with Kline in 2010 as the office fiscal manager and was promoted to chief deputy in 2016. She said she intends to run for the office.