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| Prison agency seeks $41 million |
| By registerguard.com- Jonathan Cooper |
| Published: 02/10/2014 |
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SALEM — Facing an unexpected influx of inmates and ambitious budget-cutting targets, the state Department of Corrections is asking the state Legislature for cash to help keep the agency’s budget afloat. Officials say it’s too soon to say last year’s sentencing reforms, which were supposed to keep the prison population flat, are not working. But the request for $41 million comes at a time when cash is scarce in Salem. Lawmakers have held back 2 percent of every state agency’s budget and are now warning that most will see very little of it. The Department of Human Services and the state Health Authority also have big gaps to fill. The agency’s request for $41 million would cover almost half of a $90 million anticipated shortfall in its two-year budget. Corrections officials say they anticipate seeking $28 million more from the Legislature’s Emergency Board later and hope savings will fill the rest of the gap. Shortly after the budget was adopted last summer, the corrections department saw its population spike, according to a memo to lawmakers from agency director Colette Peters. It has slowed a bit since peaking in December, but on Friday there were 172 more inmates than anticipated. Read More. |
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