Assemblywoman Addie Russell takes issue with Governor Cuomo on how 3500 beds will be cut from the state prison system. The Governor wants lawmakers to pass a budget and the he says he will decide on the logistics of the budget with the help of an appointed panel.
Ms. Russell tells Jeff Cole on the Public Eye that the Legislature should make that decision in the budget document. Ms. Russell has three prisons in her Assembly district and two just outside it.
Russell: Don't Fool Yourselves. Prison Beds Are Going To Be Cut WWNY TV 7 - News, Weather and Sports for Watertown, NY North Country Politics
26 comments:
Staffing at these facilities is whats hurting us..How can we logically leave bunks empty and justify paying taxes on the gaurds and staff plus the cost of operating these facilities. Realisticly the only people supporting keeping them open are the employees. A good rule of thumb is out with the old ones and keep the newwer ones functioning.
OCF and DRY Hill absolutely have to go.
Will this be good for the area? Absolutely not. The COS will have to bump downstate or whereever there is an opening but thats life.
We as taxpayers cannot support these jobs any more.
I support keeping them open and I am not an employee. Until I see the math I sure as hell am not going to believe Cuomo or any democrat.And especially the armchair quarterbacks spewing made up facts on this blog.
Our liberal representative is correct. It is not her job to pass a blind budget and give the governor the power to spend the money as he sees fit.
Nothing can be done down state as cheaply as it can be done upstate. Nothing! It would be cheaper to build a new prison up here than keep most of them open downstate.
We as taxpayers cannot support the more expensive prisons downstate anymore.
Yup they are going to be cuts and big ones.
Russell is being realistic Ritchie is grandstanding plain and to the point. If the cuts dont come there where to they come.
I dont pretend to know anything about prisons but if it isnt functioning right cut it. If its not full cut the staff running it.
They had their chance last year in Ogdensburg. Aubertine saved the prison for then. He then pulled a few strings and got the population up a little to give the appearance of OCF being needed. Ritchie is now the person to act. Unfortunately we voted someone in that hasnt a clue and now the COs will pay for it.
If they need to be cut, then cut them. If a prison can be consolidated and still meet standards, so be it.
Do what it takes, just stop the politicking ...
Addie is doing what she does best, getting press when there is no press to be had. She makes statements to the press which will get her coverage. Blankenbush has been doing the same thing, blasting Ag. cuts and everything else. Name recognition is what being re-elected is all about. If it was based on anything else, Addie never would of been re-elected.
Keep up the good work, and you will be a shoe in next election. Beds will be cut, Addie and everyone else knows that will happen, but get the coverage when you can.
Now that the Assembly election is over Russell could give a flying rat's behind what happens. Lets face it: the voters will forget in two years what will have happened to their prisons... Nice job Addie. But, hey, I guess her job is safe, for the time being...
Remember when folks didn't want these prisons built up here? That it was NYC's problem? Now people are railing against closing prisons,up-state; how much we need them. Insider Co's say they should close OCF because of the old age and cost of all the up-grades needed. Plus are there not 2 prisons in Ogd?
What has not been said is the waste that DOCS has in administrative staff
(building 2). It is not just amazing how NYS pays 6 figures to one person to inspect each facility in NYS for cleanliness. The Superintendent and the three Deputy Superintendents that are paid 6 figures can't tell their facility is clean or not ????
They pay lawyers (family friends) 6 figures to do administrative hearings on inmates that use to be done by Captains. This is just the tipping of the scale of waste inside DOCS administration.
Gee if a CO says it then it must be true. Aren't they the ones that accept a prison sentence 40 hours a wekk in exchange for money? Next time I'm at McDonald's I will ask the girl at the drive-through which McDonald's she thinks should be closed.
word.
if the girl at mcdonalds wants to be a co tell her to take the test
To the genius who wrote he can't believe DOCS pays someone 6 figures to go around and inspect prisons. Hmmmm, check the payroll website, $70,994 is only 5 figures, not 6 moron. As for CHO's which is the proper term for the guy who goes around and does hearings, check their record, THEY are the ones I want doing the hearing on the guy who assaults me. They do airtight hearings that stupid judges can't overturn. Now, with that said, I do know some of the inner workings of DOCS. Or soon to be DCCS. I do not agree with them all, but to speak on the part about if you need to consolidate, then cut the staff. All the jails that closed units, the staff WERE reduced. I will admit there are to many building 2 D/C's, but they really should look at downstate prisons and how people in that region NEVER come to work.
I wonder At McDonald's can they change shifts and work 4 doubles in a row? Then retire before you honor the shift switch.
Is it wrong for a CO to point out where some of the waste is within CF's. After all, they may know best. I'd even say better than McDonalds.
As a state worker and tax payer I have no problem with consolidation as long as it comes with better management and effencies at all state angencies. But the question is how do we do that and who gets to determine how this is accomplished. Do you let the politicians and upper management do this who got us to this point as is the proposal of Gov. Coumo. Personnelly I think you should include line staff from around the state as far as DOCS is concerned, these are the people who run the prisons and know the inner workings as such. I'm sure all state angencies would benifit from this and i'm not just talking union stewards but line officers. If Gov. Coumo did this i think he would get a better understanding of the prison system and how it works, nut just by listening to how a career management employee tells him it should be. One last thought on the comment Gov Coumo made about 'we can no longer incarcerate people to create jobs for others', I thought we incarcerated people for committing felonies against there victims and the state. At least that is where I would start if Gov. Coumo really wants to make real cost savings.
As a CO i see first hand some of the leeks that enable this system from running efficiently. Yes everyone here has good points, like the 4 doubles, which allows us to spend more time with our families, and the stupid comment by the gov. about locking up more people to create jobs,Does'nt the justice system decide that Gov? Facilities all over need to tighten up, but be realistic, the liberals that thinks the inmates deserve 165 channels of cable TV,rentals from netfliks, health care for continuing sex change medications once incarcerated just to mention a couple. I could list so many more. Why attack the officers that choose to WORK... and support these and other stupid decisions by our law makers.One more thought, what happens to the men and women who have spent many years inside this dept. working in the downstate prisons with the hopes to come back to these local institutions? There seems to be no mention of these officers.
Is it wrong for a CO to point out where some of the waste is within CF's. After all, they may know best. I'd even say better than McDonalds.
Obviously not.
But nothing could be more wrong than to assume or assert that COs have any special insight into the total costs, which facilities are the least efficient and which should be closed.
Then restructure the system and all that goes along with it, don't just shove closures to the top of the list.
Hey 8:21 you don't spend the extra times with the family(after working 4 doubles) you go to your second job in construction.
One of the best ways to find out how to better control costs, is to know what the person at the bottom does, then work your way up the ladder. I can tell you from experience, white collar efficiency teams, do not, often times, have a clue about what and how things work at the blue collar level, and where cuts/consolidation should really be recommended. So, personally speaking, I would start with the CO.
Hey 12:13- instead of being so "jealous" of the CO's why dont you go take the test
I am a retired CO, Having been there I believe that several facilities can be closed. Adminstration can be cut. Bldg. 2 can have staff cut. Bldg 2 has not lost much staff ascopared to when the inmate population was 70,000. The numbers aren't there you can't keep full staff. Officers will be place on a prefered transfer list and will not loose their job. They might have to travel for a while. At least they have a job, some people are looking for jobs and can't find a job, BE HAPPY YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO KEEP YOUR JOB, Supervisors take promotions and go on the road for years. Suck it up.
Hey 8:39 I already own a construction Company, It's located on Glenn Ave.
It's time that the NYS taxpayers put the blame of NY State's financial problems where it belongs. The taxpayers are blind as to what the state inmate population receives at your expense. January 2, 2010 the inmate population for the 67 state prisons was 58,378. The inmates are paid to work in the prison. It cost you approximately $246.00 a year for 1 inmate's pay check. That times 58,378 is $14,360,988 each year! They receive dental, medical, which includes specialists and surgery, healthy meals, clothing, counseling, education, drug and alcohol rehab, and care from the Rome Sleep Center for sleep apnea, plus the sleep apnea machines. They have basic cable, GED graduation, rent movies. They are allowed to have fundraisers for extras like HBO, Sports, or other cable extras. Every so often they can order food out in which a state employee picks up in a state vehicle. If they wish to get married, there is a marriage ceremony. There is an inmate liaison committee so they can address various concerns they have. Why do they have this right? Gov. Cuomo wants to reduce beds in prison. How do the victims feel when they parole early or don't sentence them to the time they should just to save money? Why do the Superintendents of each stste prison given a state owned vehicle to drive back and forth to work? I'm sure they have their own as we do. Why can't the state sell those state owned mansions that are rented very cheaply to various high ranked state officials? At least they would be back on the property tax roll.
What about our elected politcians? They do not contribute to their health insurance or pension fund. We do. Why are the NYS taxpayers paying one person $125,000 a month to manage the NY Off-Track Betting Co.? It has been in bankruptacy for years now and is a state -run corporation. Why is work being contracted out by the NYS DOT? The employees are certainly qualified to do the work? It is very costly to contract out the work.
I hope NYS taxpayers will take a good look at this and start investigating their government's spending. It is not the state employees.
One thing you don't here the media reporting is the fact that 3 years prior to this CSEA contract that expires on March 31, 2011, CSEA took 0% raises for 3 years to help close the budget gap. Did it do any good? NO! For every $1 that is paid in state employees' pension, $1.41 goes back into the economy. NY pensioners generate $24 billion in economic activity right here in New York. Our government has continued to enjoy their high salaries and perks, while the average worker, state or otherwise, struggles to make ends meet.
A Civilian DOCS employee
Don't forget the tier 5 deal negotiated between CSEA and Patterson, NO LAYOFFS in exchange for tier 5. Dont trust politicans.
Here's a thought: Say for instance they close part of Dry Hill, Couldn't the County of Jefferson rent the unused space from the state, instead of adding on a new prison at the PSB. I'm sure there's some law or policy that forbids this arrangement but tough times call for tough decisions.
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