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| MDOC cutbacks net $11M in savings |
| By Jackson Clarion Ledger |
| Published: 09/06/2004 |
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The Mississippi Department of Corrections is saving more than $11 million by eliminating some prison jobs, reorganizing positions, removing vehicles from its upper-level fleet and stopping use of some cell phones and pagers, officials say. Commissioner Christopher Epps said the prison employees who lost their jobs had not been coming to work regularly. "By terminating employees who were not coming to work, a significant savings was produced - not just in salaries, but in overtime costs as well," Epps said in a news release. Epps said the terminations won't affect the safety of the state's prisons. MDOC reported an 11.8 percent decrease in personnel during this calendar year. The agency also lowered the annual salary cost from $123 million in January to $112 million in August. The agency eliminated 164 positions from June through August, bringing $5.6 million in savings. Lawmakers in the spring approved a bill that removes civil-service protection for a year from employees at the central offices of MDOC, the State Penitentiary at Parchman and the Central Correctional Facility in Rankin County. House Corrections Committee Chairman Bennett Malone, D-Carthage, said cuts are inevitable for the department. In addition, MDOC also removed 81 vehicles from its fleet and eliminated the use of 52 cell phones and pagers. Gov. Haley Barbour said the changes are part of his Operation Streamline plan that will eliminate "Mississippi's now $411 million budget shortfall." |
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