Governor rejects closure of three prisons
Governor rejects closure of three prisons
By Alan Gustafson
Statesman Journal
Gov. Ted Kulongoski on Tuesday reaffirmed his refusal to cut Corrections Department spending by closing three state prisons, including two in Salem.
"Public safety is a priority, and I am not willing to close three prisons and release nearly 800 inmates," he said. "Accordingly, I have directed the Oregon Department of Corrections to not proceed with plans to close any prisons and release inmates."
Kulongoski plans to ask the Legislative Emergency Board to allocate $15.3 million to keep the three prisons open for the rest of the 2009-11 budget cycle, which ends June 30, 2011.
"I am confident the Legislative Emergency Board will work with me to ensure these closures do not happen at their meeting in September," he said.
Corrections Department administrators recently included three prison closures in a proposed package of cuts totaling $52 million.
Targeted for closure were Mill Creek Correctional Facility and Santiam Correctional Institution, both in Salem, and the Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker City. Shut-down savings were estimated at $15.3 million.
Prison officials said they called for closing the minimum-security institutions because they had no other options to save sums large enough to meet the 9 percent state agency cuts ordered by Kulongoski.
But the governor nixed the idea of closing three of the state's 14 prisons, opting instead to seek an infusion of money from the emergency board to keep the lockups operating during the next 12 months.
The emergency board is made up of legislative leaders and budget writers who deal with budget problems when the Legislature isn't in session.
Also on Tuesday, Kulongoski reiterated his intent to ask the emergency board to tap into its reserve fund to provide more than $3 million to forestall proposed cuts in a community corrections program.
Without the proposed prison closures and targeted cuts in community corrections, prison spending cuts total about $33 million. Among the cuts:
-Temporarily suspends 17 inmate work crews who perform tasks outside prison compounds.
-Eliminates all training for Corrections Department employees, except for "essential training" for security staff.
-Reduces funding for facility repairs and improvements.
-Eliminates all funding reserves. As a result, "nothing is available for emergencies or major changes to expenditure patterns for Health Services or institution housing demands," according to a DOC budget document.
agustafs@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6709
Additional Facts
Oregon Youth Authority cuts
A $10 million package of initial cuts in the Oregon Youth Authority budget includes a continued salary freeze for managers, delayed opening of a transitional program for young women and reduced funding for county crime-prevention services and anti-gang programs.
Agency leaders said Tuesday in a message to colleagues: "OYA has worked hard to achieve this first $10 million in reductions without needing to reduce custody capacity or move to layoffs. However, there are no easy fixes when cuts of this magnitude must be taken. Our staffing patterns and workload will be impacted as we increase the number of youth in some close custody units through emergency and temporary beds. In addition, the funding reductions to counties may result in layoffs."
OYA Director Colette Peters and Deputy Director Fariborz Pakseresht said in the message that additional cuts loom, totaling about $2 million. Those cuts will be announced around mid-August.
"No matter where we cut, public safety will be compromised as fewer youth have access to the services they need," they stated.
