Mont. Prison Lays Off 22 Staff, 12 More Demoted

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By Great Falls Tribune

Published: 10/11/2002

Officials at the Crossroad Correctional Center laid off 22 employees and demoted 12 others Wednesday to make up for lost revenue caused by the private prison's declining state inmate population.
The cuts represent about $500,000 of the 500-bed center's $4 million payroll budget, and brings the total number of employees to 119, Warden Jim McDonald said.
A $9 million Department of Corrections budget shortfall is prompting the release of up to 400 low-risk state inmates across Montana, as well as the elimination or reduction of prison programs.
'It's been a tough day,' McDonald said Wednesday before notifying the last group of employees that their last day on the job would be Saturday.
The Shelby prison, owned and operated by Corrections Corp. of America, is housing 380 inmates, about 40 fewer than last month, McDonald said.
Nonetheless, McDonald is optimistic that the facility will stay open.
'We're taking the steps we're taking to make it financially and fiscally viable for Montana,' McDonald said.
The maximum-security prison had employed up to 170 on its 80-acre campus. Of the 119 remaining, 68 are security officers -- 24 fewer than when all beds were full, but enough to manage the remaining population, the warden said.
'Public safety has been at the very front of my concern from day one, so all efforts have been taken not to jeopardize that,' McDonald said.
Shelby officials said they are working hard to find ways to increase the inmate population so they can bring some of the laid-off workers back.
'For some of those folks, it's very difficult -- they still have bills to pay,' Toole County Commissioner Allan Underdal said. 'We hope that things can turn around.'
But the cuts may not end here, Shelby Mayor Larry Bonderud warned. 'We estimate the total lost will probably be 50 jobs spread between Shelby, Cut Bank and Conrad by the end of the year,' he said.
'We want them to know that we're with them on this and we're going to do everything we can to get those jobs back in place. Every single job on the Hi-Line is an important job,' Bonderud said.
Of the 500 inmates the state is reviewing, 158 have been released and 137 have been approved and are awaiting release, Bill Slaughter, director of the Department of Corrections, said Wednesday.

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