State Senate Proposes Closing NCF to Balance Budget - Newberry News

Monday’s town meeting in the high school’s Bystrom Auditorium felt eerily familiar as approximately 400 people packed the facility to fight for the future of Newberry.

The meeting was quickly organized by the Newberry Area Chamber of Commerce after the Newberry Correctional Facility, along with Camp Manistique, was put on the chopping block last Thursday by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Judiciary and Corrections. The subcommittee voted 3—2 along party lines to close the two Upper Peninsula facilities to address a $29 million shortfall in the new budget year.

Appearing at the afternoon meeting were two Democrats representing the Tahquamenon area: State Senator Mike Prusi and State Representative Steve Adamini.

Both men related that the proposed closings came as a complete surprise.

“I was never more shocked in my life when I got the news on a cell phone in my car,” said Adamini. “‘You’re never going to believe this,’ they said. And the worst part was, the news came out on a Thursday when everybody was heading home. There wasn’t anyone you could talk to.”

The entire week, he continued, was “quite a whammy” for the Upper Peninsula—coupled with the announcement of a 31 percent cut in funding over the next five years to its largest educational facility, Northern Michigan University—with “no discussion—no debate.

“Anytime policy is made late at night, behind closed doors, it’s not good policy,” Adamini declared.

The state representative also related a phone call he made last week to Michigan Department of Corrections director Patricia L. Caruso, asking if the NCF would have been on a “hit list” of facilities to be closed. “She told me ‘No—Newberry would be at the bottom of the list and one of the most difficult to close,’ especially considering the transfer of personnel. She also said ‘It would kill that county.’

“The bottom line is that Newberry is listed as the last place by the director and the first place by the committee. Something’s wrong.”

Prusi claimed he was given only five minutes’ notice of the action. “You can imagine my state of mind,” he said. “I try not to be overly partisan in my dealings and get along with everyone…but this time I was not gentle with my comments.”

The Democratic legislators pulled no punches in assessing why the Luce County’s largest employer was targeted.

“Here’s a prison that we can hurt Democrats with,” was Adamini’s blunt summation of the majority party’s move. “It’s the kind of kindergarten, petty policies being played in Lansing.”

“Blatant partisanship” was how Prusi described the maneuver to close two facilities in a Democratic district while maintaining what Adamini described as “an absolute disaster” in a Republican district.

The pair was particularly incensed by the fact that the two efficient and respected Upper Peninsula facilities, representing 345 full-time workers and 1,144 beds, were designated to be cut, while the privately owned Michigan Youth Correctional Facility in downstate Baldwin was spared. The so-called “punk prison” in Lake County, with its 400 beds, has been cited in the past for numerous inefficiencies. Prusi cited a state audit released last week that said prison officials should consider whether to continue sending young felons to a private prison because it is one of the most expensive in the state.

“How can you use the same report that shows you can save lots of money by closing Baldwin to close Newberry?” he asked.

Prusi also revealed that representatives from the Baldwin area were permitted to put on a “dog and pony show” before the budget subcommittee. “I’ve asked them to grant the citizens of Luce County the same opportunity to testify,” he said, although as of Monday no response had been received.

When an audience member grumbled about a lack of corrections support from Governor Jennifer Granholm, both men stressed that it was never her intention to close NCF. According to her aides, they said, keeping the Newberry facility open “is a track she intends to stay on.”

Strategies discussed that afternoon included coordinating and expanding the petition drive that sprang to life last week, flooding legislators with e-mailed protests and further developing a new Web site dedicated to the cause. Jill Maki of the Luce County Democratic Party offered to oversee the petitions, while Gina Harman is taking responsibility for <www.savenewberry.com>. Chamber president Kevin Vanatta, who chaired the meeting, also collected a lengthy list of volunteers who were willing to assist with the campaign.

Prusi estimates that no final action will be taken on the matter until September, so the town has a few months, at least, to make itself heard and make its case. “We’re not going to lose this fight this week or this month,” he said.

Adamini advised the crowd not to get into “a black cloud of despair. I’m not promising fame and glory, but we’re going to continue to fight this battle on your behalf with every ounce of strength we’ve got.”

When asked by the Newberry News for his rationale in closing the Newberry Correctional Facility, Senator Alan L. Cropsey, chairman of the Corrections Subcommittee that submitted the budget reduction, responded with the following statement:

I believe firmly in public safety. I believe that those persons currently in the prison system belong there. I believe that public safety should trump budget considerations. The employee contract negotiated by this administration increases the Michigan Department of Corrections’ costs by almost $100 million, yet her submitted budget shorts the Department about $25 million to pay for contract and benefit increases. Somehow they have to find this $25 million next year.

Over the last four years, the MDOC has cut almost $380 million from its operations. Had this been accomplished purely from prison closings, we would have closed at least 15 prisons, maybe more, and reduced beds by well over 10,000. But we haven't. We have reduced staff by over 1,800, found efficiencies, closed camps and centers and combined operations. We have left thousands of beds unfunded (and therefore vacant) through additional major facilities being closed. I hear regularly from corrections officers in my district (I have five open facilities, one closed) that the reduced level of staffing is potentially impairing their safety.

The fat is gone. This Governor has proposed, and unfortunately I have to agree, to begin cutting even more into the muscle of the Department. Even worse, since she submitted the budget, we have had a consensus revenue estimate conference that came up with lower overall revenue figures. I have been told by leadership that the Department budget has to be cut by $30 million more from the Governor's recommendation, by $48 million if the Youth Correctional Facility is added back to the mix.

Closing a facility is not new. In the last four years we have closed: Camp Waterloo * (Republican representation) Jackson Maximum Correctional facility * (Democratic representation) Camp Pellston * (Republican representation) Pontiac Correction Center * (Democratic representation) Western Wayne Correctional Facility * (Republican representation) Mangum Farm * (Democratic representation) Wing Farm * (Democratic representation) Camp Tuscola * (Democratic representation) Camp Sauble * (Republican representation) Benton Harbor Correctional Center * (Republican representation) Saginaw Correctional Center * (Democratic representation) DeMarse Training Center * (Democratic representation) In addition, we have closed the Michigan Reformatory (Republican * mine!), which was being renovated. We have not opened a 240-bed unit at the Macomb Correctional Facility (Republican). Clearly politics is not part of any decision to close any particular facility.

None of these closings was easy, either for managing the prisoner population or for the community affected. The bottom line, though, is that most people in Lansing seem convinced that the corrections budget is too big and should be downsized. Even the Democratic legislators have told me that they will vote to close at least the Baldwin facility. Advocates have talked (and published) about being able to close up to 10 large facilities. The media regularly call for reductions in both the size and the budget of the MDOC. I am having to balance the public safety and community employment pictures with the reality of an MDOC budget that is constantly being reduced in real dollars, with increasing demands for even more reductions.

I cannot balance the budget without closing a facility, the same choice as the Governor recommended. However, closing the Baldwin facility is not enough. The choice boils down to either closing Baldwin and still lay off hundreds of employees by cutting significant programming that I believe is necessary to reduce recidivism and protect Michigan citizens, or else close a second facility as well. When asked for their input on the additional cuts, the Department suggested it might take as many as three total prison closings to meet the budget level. Rather than close two or three small facilities, I believe it is wiser to close one larger prison.

I have attempted to limit the number of facilities to be closed and reduce bedspace for the least dangerous offenders (Level I & II), while saving the most dollars. I have looked at the costs of running various facilities and weighed those costs against the classification levels of prisoners housed. Newberry sticks out as far and away the most expensive low-level security prison we operate. According to the Auditor General, if Newberry were operated at the same cost as the next highest cost Level II facility, we would save over $4 million. It is far away from families. It was built as a mental health facility, not as a prison.

The Michigan constitution requires Michigan to have a balanced budget. Unfortunately, next year that entails reducing facility costs by $30 million. Having the Michigan Reformatory closed in my own district, plus losing the Electrolux plant with 2,600 direct jobs, I well understand the economic impact of closing prison facilities.

This is just the first step in the budget process. I am open to working with Sen. Prusi to find alternatives, but the Department's budget has no more room to maneuver without facility closings. I do not want to close the Newberry facility, or any other MDOC facility, but unless there is a miracle in the economy, facilities will continue to be closed. Thanks for the opportunity to explain a most difficult decision.