|
|
| Audit faults California prison system for failing to develop system to track rising costs |
| By mercurynews.com |
| Published: 09/09/2009 |
|
SACRAMENTO — As the debate grinds on in the Legislature about how best to slice $1.2 billion from California's crowded prison system, a scathing new audit faults the Corrections Department for its skyrocketing costs and for not doing enough to track the money it spends. According to the report, released Tuesday, spending by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation jumped by nearly 32 percent from 2005 through 2008 — to almost $10 billion, a tenth of the state's operating fund — even though the inmate population actually decreased by several hundred inmates during that span. "Corrections fails to track, maintain and use data that would allow it to more effectively monitor and manage its operations," State Auditor Elaine Howle wrote to lawmakers and the governor's office. She said that "lack of information" has prevented officials from keeping some costs in check. It was unclear Tuesday how the report would affect the Legislature's ongoing efforts to trim the prisons budget. Cutting the budget, largely by releasing thousands of inmates, was a key piece of the weeks-long discussions that closed the state's $24 billion deficit this summer. Efforts to send a reform package to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk have languished amid a dispute between the Senate and the Assembly over how many inmates to release. Neither side commented Tuesday on the auditor's findings. Read More. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think