Committee Presents Ideas To Cut Prison Costs Privatization, Eliminating Corrections Department Among Proposals

Privatization is one way to cut the cost of putting people behind bars, corrections officials and sheriff’s deputies told Spokane County commissioners Thursday.

Alarmed at skyrocketing costs at Geiger Corrections Center, commissioners earlier this summer appointed a committee to find ways to save money there and at the county jail.

Without changes, officials warn, Geiger’s budget will grow by about $2 million in the next year, as it struggles to house a growing inmate population.

Committee members outlined four alternatives Thursday, including:

Maintaining the current system, in which the Sheriff’s Department runs the jail and the corrections department manages Geiger. Through administrative changes, the committee estimates it could shave about $200,000 from the departments’ combined annual budgets.

Place the jail under the mantle of county corrections, eliminating the need for one undersheriff and replacing the jail commander and two lieutenants with positions that pay lower wages. The changes could save the county $132,000 a year, but could lead to lawsuits as jail positions lose their civil service protection.

Eliminate the corrections department, placing the sheriff in control of Geiger. Two positions could be eliminated, saving $114,000. But the committee warned that Geiger employees might be entitled to higher wages, matching those paid at the jail.

Hire a private firm to run both institutions, cutting costs by 5 percent to 15 percent. A contractor could pay lower wages and has other financial advantages over government, the committee noted.

“If private industry finds a way to save money, they can move quickly into that,” said Undersheriff Burel Schulz.

But, Schulz warned, contractors might lobby the Legislature for “longer sentences and stiffer sentences, which would increase costs for everyone.”

None of the four committee members who met with commissioners recommended privatization.

Schulz made no recommendation and sheriff’s Capt. Jim Hill recommended changes to make the current system more efficient. Two officials from the corrections department recommended placing the jail under their control.

Commissioners said they probably won’t make a decision until late October, after they hear the sheriff’s budget request for next year.

, DataTimes