Report targets job cuts at Walla Walla penetentiary

By Drew Foster, Herald staff writer

WALLA WALLA -- City officials are concerned a recommendation to close a portion of the Washington State Penitentiary could eliminate 300 well-paying jobs.

State officials, however, say it's too early to be concerned.

The state Office of Financial Management was directed earlier this year to commission a study to determine how to best reduce spending by eliminating 1,580 beds in the Department of Corrections system, as well as several hundred beds in juvenile rehabilitation facilities and residential habilitation centers.

Consultant Christopher Murray & Associates revealed its draft report Wednesday with recommendations on which state facilities could be closed or consolidated.

Options include closing the old main institution at the penitentiary in Walla Walla or downsizing the McNeil Island facility in southern Puget Sound to minimum security. Both scenarios also call for the closure of Ahtanum View Corrections Center in Yakima.

The Walla Walla option would eliminate 1,653 beds, while the McNeil Island option would eliminate 1,618. The McNeil option also includes closing two custody units at the penitentiary in Walla Walla.

"The report really has Walla Walla in the bull's-eye," said Jim Kuntz, executive director of the Port of Walla Walla.

Kuntz estimates closure of the old main institution would result in the loss of about 300 jobs that pay an average salary of $40,000 annually. He said many of the lost positions would be corrections officers.

"It's huge," Kuntz said of the job loss. "In this economy, there's no way of replacing 300 jobs that pay an average of $40,000 a year."

The old main institution, built in the late 1800s, contains 648 medium-security beds. The entire penitentiary contains about 2,200 beds, said Kate Lykins Brown, spokeswoman with the state Office of Financial Management.

The penitentiary is the second-largest employer in Walla Walla County, Kuntz said. It employs nearly 1,300 people, according to the state Department of Corrections website.

"This is a relatively small community," said Tim McCarty, interim Walla Walla city manager. "The fact that we could lose 300 jobs ... that's a large impact."

The Office of Financial Management's study will be finalized Nov. 2. It then will be considered by the Legislature. Public comment period on the draft report runs through Oct. 21 on the Office of Financial Management's website, www.ofm.wa.gov.

Until that final report is released, Lykins Brown said concerns over job loss are premature.

Kuntz complained that the draft report does not take into account the economic impact that could be felt in Walla Walla if the old main institution is closed.

Lykins Brown said the financial impact is being studied and will be available in the final report.

Kuntz and McCarty said reductions were made to the penitentiary's bed count during the last state budget biennium, which resulted in a 354-bed reduction and loss of 138 jobs.

"We feel that we've done our fair share of reducing costs," Kuntz said.

If the old main institution were to close, the number of inmates in it outnumbers the open beds within the Walla Walla prison, said Adam Aaseby, budget assistant to the governor for human services.

-- Drew Foster: 509-585-7207; dfoster@tricityherald.com

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Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009

Report targets job cuts at Walla Walla penetentiary

By Drew Foster, Herald staff writer