Prison Needs More Than $12 M In Work OCF Closure To Save Over $30M

If Ogdensburg Correctional Facility is closed in the spring of 2011, the state Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) expects to save $23.9 million in payroll and another $12.4 million over five years in capital costs.

Gov. David A. Paterson has recommended in his executive budget to shut down the 28-year-old prison, along with three other medium security prisons in Upstate New York. The prison closure has drawn criticism from city and union officials as well as Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, and Assemblywoman Addie Jenne Russell, D-Theresa.

However, Gov. Paterson has shown no signs of changing his mind.

"This is a difficult situation. Any other time, we would probably keep the facilities open just to maintain the financial integrity of the local governments, the villages and the towns. Here we would do it, but we don't have the money," Gov. Paterson said about the Ogdensburg Correctional Facility in a recent interview.

According to a fact sheet on the prison closures found on the DOCS Web site at www.docs.state.ny.us, Ogdensburg Correctional Facility has 287 employees as of Dec. 31, 2009, and has 612 beds, with 490 prisoners in staffed housing units.

DOCS expects savings of $23.9 million in annual operating costs and $12,431,000 in savings over five-years due to avoiding capital costs.

According to DOCS, those costs include $300,000 for providing shower controls; $800,000 for upgrading the site-wide security perimeter closed circuit television system; and $9,431,000 for replacing the hot water boiler house in 2012-13 as well as the recurring annual cost to hire five additional employees to help operate it.

Other costs include $200,000 to rehabilitate the Flower Building basement in 2013-2014.

The following are excerpts from a DOCS fact sheet, found on the state agency's Web site, detailing the reasoning behind the 2011 prison closures:

* Cost Savings - Combined, the closures of the four prisons are expected to save $3 million in operating costs in 2010-11 and $45.8 million in 2011-12, plus $13.8 million over the next five years by avoiding needed capital construction projects.

* Staff Impact - The closures of the four prisons will result in the elimination of approximately 572 staff positions, of which 419 are uniformed. DOCS anticipates offering a fillable vacancy to every affected uniformed employee and will strive to identify fillable vacancies for all affected civilian employees. Each month, approximately 84 security staff employees leave the payroll statewide to retire or pursue other opportunities. Attrition should create fillable vacancies for the majority of affected staff.

* Community Impact - Outside inmate community work crews operate out of Ogdensburg (one crew) will be eliminated when the facility closes. Each crew includes up to 10 inmates supervised by a correctional officer.