| Property tax relief
through restructuring the prison system — Making communities safer and more secure
"The
governor’s goal is a unified system for two reasons: one is, it absolutely makes
sense for the health, safety, and welfare of Maine people — including inmates with
health problems, substance abuse, and special needs. Secondly, we need to do a better job
financially for all the taxpayers" —Director of State Planning Office
Martha Freeman
By Ramona
du Houx
Dialogue — the first step to bring about
change. But all talk and no action leads to atrophy.
That’s what has occurred with our jail
system. News reports, over the last ten years, continuously have told us about
overcrowding, understaffing, and poor mental care programs at county jails. No matter how
hard counties try to resolve their situations the problems keep multiplying, because the
state’s demography is in transition. As a result property taxes keep going up.
This governor has had enough, he’s taking
action that will stop property tax increases due to jail costs and streamline the prison
system into one unified system.
"Property taxpayers statewide have been
yearning for property tax relief. The bills have been going up double digit," said
Governor Baldacci.
The governor’s plan will alleviate property
tax while improving the state’s jail system, making communities safer and more
secure. Property tax rates attributed to jail costs would be frozen at their current
levels. The state would pick up any future costs.
It cost property taxpayers $66 million in 2006
and an estimated $71.2 million in 2007 to support county jail operations.
"If nothing is done, that will balloon to
$148 million by 2013 and $184 million by 2015, just for the county jails," said
Baldacci.
The measure would consolidate 15 county jail
systems and the state corrections system into a single, statewide, unified system that
would be managed by the Department of Corrections.
"We have been on the edge of a crisis for some time,"
said the governor. "The current system is inefficient and unsustainable. People are
getting hurt, they aren’t receiving the care they need, and the burden for this
outdated system is falling directly onto the backs of property taxpayers. The system has
to change."
Maine’s prison system currently is overcrowded
at ten county jails, while five are at or under capacity.
As with the governor’s plan for school
consolidation of administrative units, many of those who strongly oppose the measure are
the ones who are afraid they could loose their authority. The school consolidation of
administrative units is working, with 75 of the 80 administrative districts submitting
their consolidation plans on time.
The idea of consolidating Maine’s
prison system is not new. A report from the 1997 Privatization Task Force recommended a
single statewide correctional system.
Department of Corrections Commissioner Marty
Magnusson originally told legislators about the consolidation plan to alleviate the
overcrowding in the prison system when lawmakers were considering shipping inmates out to
correctional facilities in other states last January.
The Legislature’s Committee on Correctional
Facilities, the Appropriations Committee, the Baldacci administration, and Magnusson
worked together and found a solution — for the short term.
"Our current situation is intolerable,"
said Baldacci. "We must act. The state prison system and a number of counties with
older facilities don’t have enough room to house inmates, while other counties have
beds left empty."
Costs locally for the county jails rose by 12
percent while the state jails only saw an increase of 6 percent during the same time
period.
"The county system is drawing 12 percent a
year where the state is drawing 6 percent a year," said Magnusson. "Within the
next seven years some counties would have to do major construction because we aren’t
managing with 15 different entities. Four are considering new construction for next year,
and so is the state. By coming together as one unified system we can stop all that
construction," said Magnusson. "That construction would cost $95 million we
don’t have to have — if we come together in one system. Plus, we will reduce
costs. We can have a system with unified polices and specialized facilities for the
mentally ill, substance abuse, and women, allowing us to put our resources in specific
locations."
Department of
Corrections Commissioner Marty Magnusson - photo Ramona du Houx
By creating a single, combined corrections
system, projected costs can be reduced by $10 million in the first year. By 2015, annual
savings will grow to almost $38 million.
"It makes no sense in this day and age for
the property tax to bear the increasing burden of cost at the jail level. If we had a
unified system, one management of the entire system would mean we could do it more
efficiently and effectively. The jail costs are the largest cost of county assessment that
goes to property taxpayers," said Director of State Planning Office Martha Freeman.
"In addition, regional correctional systems will match up with the prosecutorial
districts; therefore there will be a much more efficient pretrial operation."
A consolidated system that is designed to work in
sync with the state’s eight judicial districts could effectively put a stop to
practices that have been responsible for some cost increases. Lengthy jail terms before
trails could be lessened, improving the judicial system as well as saving property
taxpayers’ dollars. Reducing court fees paid by the county will save annually
$250,000.
"If we have a systematic way of managing
corrections, we can have a much greater effect on the rest of the criminal justice
system," said the Deputy Commissioner Denise Lord of the Dept. of Corrections.
"We’re scheduling site visits to every single jail. The teams will be going in
and looking at each jail from top to bottom. They will be collecting information and
interviewing personnel about everything — the physical plant layout, medical and
mental health services, human resources, programs, security, and staffing levels."
As part of the plan, four county jails would be
closed: Oxford, Franklin, Piscataquis, and Waldo. These closures will save an estimated $8
million in 2009 and $15 million in 2015.
A Unified Corrections System:
· Eliminates overcrowding – it will make at
least 300 excess beds available
· Eliminates the need for counties to build new
prisons and close four prisons
· Will freeze property taxes to pay for jails at
current levels, guaranteeing property tax payers will not see tax increases due to the
jail system
· Will save money. $10 million in the first year
· Will take better care of prisoners: with
specialty programs to treat mentally ill patients, improved rehabilitative services
including better treatment of substance abuse.
· Will improve conditions for women prisoners
· Will make our communities safer and more secure
The plan would also allow for the creation of at
least one specialty program — and perhaps two — that would treat prisoners with
mental health issues. Currently, there is limited ability to treat psychiatric patients
within either the prison or jail systems.
The combined system will also benefit from
reduced administrative overhead, improved purchasing power and increased flexibility.
Sharing functions such as medical and training operations, is projected to save $4.6
million in 2009 and $9 million in 2015.
"While constraining costs and relieving the
pressure on property taxpayers is a high priority, our plan will also lead to better
outcomes for prisoners," said Baldacci. "We can’t continue to have
prisoners sleeping on floors, and mental illness, and substance abuse going untreated.
They are in our custody, and we are legally responsible for their welfare. We can’t
wait for a crisis that puts the lives of guards and prisoners in jeopardy."
The proposed merger would involve an increase in
state administrative costs because state workers are paid more than their county
counterparts. Those costs would be more than offset by savings elsewhere.
"I believe we need to wind up with one
prison system, to make it more efficient. We need to unify the system. I supported taking
over the county jails to begin with," said Rep. Stan Gerzofsky, who chairs the
Criminal Justice Committee on public safety. "It will have tremendous cost savings
and provide better services."
The governor’s merger plan will be submitted
to the Legislature for consideration when they reconvene in January. Committee meetings
will be held, recommendations and changes made before the bill is voted on.
"The whole process needs to go through the
Legislature and appropriations will decide where the funding comes from. The governor has
put his proposal forward, and he wants to let the process take its course. By the end of
the session, we will have a better product, one that the majority of the Legislature will
support," said Gerzofsky.
"We are at the beginning of a process of the
governor bringing forward a difficult issue, yet one that has been discussed a lot and
studied a lot. We intend to sit down with everyone, and at the end of the day we will have
a unified system. We will be looking out for the health, welfare, and safety of all Maine
people, and all of Maine taxpayers," said Freeman.
Six states have statewide, unified correctional
systems that have yielded savings since their implementation and improved conditions for
inmates.
"I want the workers in the corrections field
to know that they are important and they are valued, and we certainly appreciate their
service and want to continue to work with them," said the governor. "This plan
offers a guarantee that property taxes won’t go up to pay for county jails in the
future. We know we have a problem, and we know what the solution is. Now, we must muster
the political will to take action."
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