BIENNIUM BUDGET TALKING POINTS

HIGHLIGHTS

Redistributes the prisoner population to reduce overall costs by contracting the housing of close and medium custody and longer sentenced prisoners to a private facility.  The daily costs of boarding prisoners at an out of state facility are under $70/day compared to the department’s average rate of $103/day

The proposed downsizing of the three additional community/minimum security facilities minimizes the impact on any one community (we are not shutting down an entire facility, Downeast Correctional, or the remainder of Charleston, as examples)

Continues, but does not expand, our use of county jails at the marginal rate of $22/day for 190 state prisoners.

39 additional positions are eliminated for a total reduction, including the supplemental budget reductions, of 64 positions

Specifics
•	Continues the reductions contained in the supplemental budget
•	closure of the second housing unit at the Charleston Correctional Facility
•	elimination of 25 positions (15 limited period)

•	Downsizes an additional 3 housing units in FY10/11 for a total reduction of 264 beds
•	closure of a 90 bed housing unit at the Bolduc Correctional Facility in Warren
•	closure of a 40 bed minimum security facility at the Downeast Correctional Facility in Machiasport
•	closure of a 94 bed medium security housing unit at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham

•	Contracts with a private vendor for the housing of 118 high, close or medium security prisoners.  The prisoners to be housed in an out of state facility will have long sentences and minimal family ties in Maine.  These prisoners will be returned to Maine with one year remaining on their sentence for transition and reentry planning and programming.

•	Double cells 2 additional pods at the Maine State Prison (1 close security and the remaining medium security pod) adding an additional 84 beds within existing resources 

•	39 net positions will be eliminated (24 permanent positions and 16 limited period) this is in addition to the positions eliminated in the supplemental budget proposal

•	continue to board 190 prisoners in the county jails at the marginal rate of $22/day