For more than two years, an unusual coalition of business, local government, nonprofit and education groups have pressured state leaders to reduce the overall proportion of the state general fund going to prisons.
The coalition gained perhaps one of its largest victories yet this fall when Gov.-elect Rick Snyder’s transition team requested the coalition’s in-depth ideas and rationale for additional prison reforms.
Here’s what the coalition prepared for the new governor…
DATE: November 29, 2010
TO: Bill Martin, transition liaison for prison policy for Gov.-elect Rick Snyder
FROM: Members of the Corrections Reform Coalition
RE: Prison System Reform and Cost Savings Opportunities
A diverse group of organizations including representatives of the businesses, nonprofit, education, and local government sectors formed the Corrections Reform Coalition in late 2008. The organizations in this informal coalition share deep concern over the size and growth of the budget for the Michigan Department of Corrections – a budget that grew from 2 percent of state general fund expenditures in 1971 to 23 percent today.1 The MDOC budget has continued to grow (both in total amount and in its ratio of the general fund) despite cuts to the prison population and workforce:
The Corrections Reform Coalition has issued a series of letters to state policymakers over the past two years. Those signed letters are attached along with contact information for all who have participated.
The coalition believes a two-pronged approach to further prison reform is possible without compromising public safety. In essence, the coalition has called for the state to reduce corrections spending by hundreds of millions of dollars by reforming: 1) prison operations; and, 2) sentencing/incarceration policies.
The coalition met most recently in mid-November and identified three themes of concern and opportunity for the incoming Snyder Administration:
- The prison population.
- Staff and labor issues.
- Other prison operations.
Those three themes are discussed in detail below.
We are grateful for this opportunity to provide ideas and insights on the prison system as the Snyder Administration begins to grapple with the considerable policy and budget challenges coming in 2011 and beyond.
We stand ready to support reform efforts.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Please note… Additional organizations and individuals also have participated in the Corrections Reform Coalition in the past two years but were unavailable to sign for the following reasons…
- Doug Rothwell, CEO, Business Leaders for Michigan – declined to sign due to his role on the Snyder Transition Team.
- Bill Martin, CEO, Michigan Association of Realtors – declined to sign due to his role on the Snyder Transition Team.
- S. Martin Taylor, private citizen and former Michigan state government department head, could not be reached due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
THEME 1: THE PRISON POPULATION
With annual costs of more than $30,000 per inmate, one key way to reduce Michigan Department of Corrections budget is to reduce the prison population so that additional prison facilities could be closed or consolidated. The coalition has commended the department, Gov. Jennifer Granholm, and the Michigan Legislature for doing so. As of Friday, November 19, the prison population stood at 44,076 inmates – down 14 percent from the all-time high of 51,554 in May 2007.2
Still, additional steps can be taken, including:
1) Minimizing the number of prisoners serving past their earliest release dates. Approximately 8,0003 (18 percent) of MDOC inmates are past the earliest release dates as prescribed by their sentences. Many such prisoners may be able to be released without threatening public safety. At $30,000 per inmate, reducing by half the number of prisoners past their earliest release dates could conceivably save $120 million.
2) Implement CSG Reforms. The Council of State Governments, after several years studying Michigan’s prison system, recommended a series of reforms that resulted in Senate Bills 826 and 827. Among other things, these bills would require that inmates serve 100 percent of minimum sentence but no more than 120 percent of minimum sentence and would limit the amount of additional prison time received by technical parole violators. The Pew Center/Council of State Governments estimated these reforms would result in a 1,800 prisoner reduction and $35 million in total savings over the next four years. Numerous members of the Corrections Reform Coalition testified in favor of these bills in early 2010. Yet the bills have remained stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee since September 20094.
3) Expediting parole for medically fragile prisoners. MDOC currently cares for 300-400 such infirm prisoners. Moving such prisoners to facilities and service providers beyond prison walls could shift many of their medical costs to the federal Medicaid system.5
4) Assuring the parole board expedites all hearings and paroles to the extent possible without compromising public safety. Parole policy can better reflect the priority of moving low-risk offenders back into the community. For example, many other states incentivize inmates by reducing sentences with good-behavior credits.6
5) Establishing a sentencing commission to thoroughly examine Michigan’s incarceration policies and recommend practical and safe reforms. Studies by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan and the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments have suggested that Michigan may imprison felons for longer periods of time than other states, thereby inflating prison system costs without necessarily deterring crime or increasing public safety. In 2008, the Citizens Research Council concluded Michigan’s incarceration rate as 44 percent higher than the average of all Great Lakes states (489 prisoners per 100,000 residents in Michigan; average of 338 prisoners per 100,000 residents in all Great Lakes states)7. A 2009 report by the Justice Center found that “people sentenced to prison in Michigan for various violent crimes stay in prison considerably longer than is the case nationally.”8 A commission could benchmark Michigan’s sentencing and parole procedures and incarceration outcomes against those in other states and identify best practices elsewhere to manage the careful balance between the need for incarceration as a deterrent against crime and the need to minimize public investment in prisons.
THEME 2: STAFF & LABOR ISSUES
As outlined above, Michigan prison costs have continued to rise despite the 14 percent drop in the number of prisoners in the past three and a half years. Payroll accounts for three-quarters of all MDOC expenses. In 2011, the Snyder Administration has the opportunity to negotiate new labor contracts with many state employees, including many in the Department of Corrections.
Obviously, the administration must balance economic concerns with MDOC employee morale and the constant need for MDOC employees to prevent prison unrest and protect the public.
Areas of concern and potential savings:
1) Overall staffing levels. MDOC arguably grew less efficient in terms of staffing in recent years. From 2006 thru 2009, the ratios of prisoners-to-guards and prisoners-to-total-MDOC-employees actually fell. Staffing and inmate numbers are not yet final for 2010, but estimates suggest MDOC has not cut staffing levels as aggressively as it cut the prison population, at least thru 2009:
Additional opportunity may exist to benchmark MDOC overall staffing and guard-to-prisoner ratios to those of other states’ prison systems and adjust accordingly if warranted. Such ratios from other states were not immediately available from MDOC administration.
2) Employee Pay & Fringe Benefits. In contrast to Michigan’s overall economic meltdown and the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs statewide in the past decade, the costs of MDOC employee pay and benefits have risen considerably. Overall MDOC “economics” increased 3.179 per year from 2003-2011, according to department testimony in the Senate in February 2010. In state government parlance, budget increases attributed to “economics” are dominated by personnel-related costs, including salary and wage increases, actuarial increases to insurance and retirement costs, and workers compensation costs.
Citizens Research Council reports and updated Census statistics suggest that Michigan Department of Corrections workers are compensated at considerably higher levels than their peers in other states. In 2008, the Citizens Research Council estimated that 2005 prison system pay in Michigan was 20 percent10 higher than the average in eight Great Lakes states. Earlier this year, The Center for Michigan used the same Census data as CRC to estimate that Michigan prison system pay in 2008 was 13 percent higher than the Great Lakes average:
Also, benchmarking by the National Conference of State Legislatures in 2009 concluded that health insurance for Michigan state employees cost 23 percent more than the national average11. Michigan taxpayers spent 34 percent more than the national average for that insurance while Michigan state employees contributed 32% less than the national average in premium cost sharing.
3) Work Rules. Labor contracts with corrections employees include numerous costly work rules that could be considered for elimination. Elimination of the following work rules could save $51 million per year, according to MDOC estimates12:
- Overtime/Sick Time. Employees currently receive 4 hours of sick time per pay period but are actually using, on average, slightly more than 4 hours of sick time per pay period. Under current rules, an employee can call in sick on a scheduled work day and then earn overtime later in the week for working on a previously unscheduled work day, even if total hours for the week have not exceeded 40. Requiring 40 hours worked before granting any overtime could save $29 million per year.
- Clothing/dry cleaning allowances for officer uniforms. Eliminating this benefit could save $5.4 million.
- Retention pay. Some corrections officers receive retention pay for working in higher-level prisons. Eliminating this benefit could save $5.5 million.
- Longevity pay. Discontinuing this benefit, which is in addition to scheduled pay increases and retirement benefits, could save $8.2 million.
- State paid holidays. Reducing the number of holidays by two could save $3 million in MDOC
THEME 3: OTHER PRISON OPERATIONS
The MDOC and its employees should be commended for enduring considerable change in recent years. MDOC estimates it has saved more than $600 million since 2003 through prison closures/consolidations/reorganizations, process efficiencies, and other reforms. State budget pressures necessitate ongoing scrutiny of all prison funding and processes.
Additional areas of concern and potential savings:
1) General Efficiency Thru General Budget Cuts. The budget passed by the Legislature in fall 2009 called for an $841 per prisoner cut in Department of Corrections spending to be achieved through general efficiencies. The governor vetoed this cut, which would have saved $38 million. After holding hearings across the state in 2006-07, a Senate subcommittee declared it was “convinced that the Michigan Department of Corrections should be able to reduce its per-prisoner cost by at least 20-30 percent.” The committee did not outline specific strategies to achieve those general operational savings, though the general desire for such savings certainly remains.
2) Process Engineering. MDOC estimates it will soon save $4 million annually through improved processes for food service supervision, accounting, and prisoner store operations. Process engineers who are members of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce also have studied prison parole processes and the delivery of prisoner medications and estimates millions of dollars in additional potential savings.
Efficiency consultants should continue to be employed in search of additional savings through process re-engineering and removal of any unnecessary administrative rules or burdensome legislation affecting prison operations.
3) Deportable Prisoners. House Bill 4130 would transfer state prisoners to federal custody after those prisoners had served half of their minimums state sentences. The bill passed the House earlier this fall and awaits action in the Senate. House Fiscal Agency estimated that as of fall 2009, this reform would have removed 59 prisoners from the state system at an annual savings of $600,000. Additional savings are possible once more deportable prisoners serve half their minimum sentences. The bill has passed the House but has been stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee since September 2009.13
4) Chelsea Boot Camp – Keep It Open. In recent years, some legislators have repeatedly threatened to close a prison alternative boot camp in Chelsea, despite data suggesting that the boot camp saves money and is at least as effective as prison when it comes to inmate recidivism. Putting first-time offenders in the boot camp rather than prison saves more than $30 million per year.14
5) Mentally Ill Prisoners. Experts estimate that many of Michigan’s prisoners suffer from severe mental illness. There is considerable need to identify best practices nationally in the treatment and housing of the mentally ill, including, prison diversion programs.
6) Continue to Tackle Recidivism Through Strong Re-Entry Programs & Additional Reforms. MDOC needs to continue to innovate and invest in strategic programs to reduce recidivism. MDOC estimates that the Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative (MPRI) is leading to lower prison populations and fewer returns to prison without an increase in crime. MDOC estimates net savings, after considerable reinvestment, of $172 million as a result of MPRI.
20 Comments
If the savings realized aren’t reinvested in substance abuse/ mental health treatment, housing, and job creation for offenders they will eventually return. Most of these folks will require supportive interventions long after they are off parole. Completing parole successfully is only the beginning of a life long recovery process. Yet we close the file on these individuals who remain at high risk to relapse and possibly recidivate.
Years ago I a very wise person said ” We need to differentiate those offenders that we are afraid of and those we are just mad at. “
I appreciate all efforts to lessen the cost of government. However, ALL parties involved in this process should tour a Michigan Prison and review the recent spike in violence before making any more cuts. The inside of our prisons is now violent on an unbelievable scale. Staff are being assaulted and seriously injured at an all time high. Pushing the “mandatory release after completing minimum sentence” idea would help it grow exponentially, by taking away any incentive a prisoner has to be good–a return to “good time credit” is a GREAT idea! I assure you that the MDOC has released every single prisoner that is not a danger to society, and many who are. I would encourage supporters of this to review the types of people being released on parole. We have released hundreds of offenders that are so “safe” that they require a GPS tether with 24 hour/day monitoring. When discussing wages, don’t forget to factor in furlough days, Banked Leave Time, and no-pay paydays that have been endured for years! I have not made my contracted wage in 6 years! Also, please consider that my job and many in MDOC, requires a 4 year degree. A degree that costs me well over 10% of my wages for student loans for about 20 years; and, my position in the Federal Government pays DOUBLE my wages and has a pension. I, and many others, currently work between 10 and 20 hours per pay period for FREE, as we do not have the staffing necessary to meet our legally binding obligations. Sorry for my rant, but thank you for your consideration.
For most of my career. I sold numerous products to major chains such as Kmart,Meiyers,etc. I assure you that they purchased using very competitive platforms. Toward my last years, they began with on line reverse auctions which were most effective. Do purchasing agents in Lansing use similar methods? The amount of consumable products they require just for prisons must be substantial….light bulbs,blankets,tooth paste, food, etc. I would suggest a committee be created to observe how purchasing is handled in various agencies. I would be willing to volunteer to work with others.
I am commenting on your far fetched prisoner to offficer ratio. I currently work in a level IV housing unit with 192 prisoners on count. According to your formula this unit is short 31 officers as we currently staff this housing unit with 4 officers which is a 48 to 1 prisoner to officer ratio. So if you are going use Enron type statistic manipulation to make your report sound good, at least base them somewhat in reality. Just remember the prisoners aren’t split up in to 3 shifts to serve their sentences.
When you decide to close more prison. Please make sure you don’t do so in the Rural areas where there is no other employment. I don’t remember Mr. Snyder doing much campaigning in the U.P. area, however , I still voted for him, Look at the Western End of the U.P. Not a whole lot of Job opportunities. And Yes, I’m talking about Ojibway Correctional Facility. Closing of that facility will spell disaster for the area. Cut wages, cut benefits do what you have to do, but when you cut jobs it is going to mean alot more folks fleeing the State. At 58 I’m sure no one will hire me. Thank you for letting me voice my opionion.
After reading the colitions recomendations to the Gov. elect I have to ask some questions.
What’s the colitions views on the administration side of the Department of Corrections? Just in our county alone we have (2) Wardens, (2) Deputy Wardens, at least (6) Assistant Deputy Wardens not to mention the administrative staff who work for these administrators. I didn’t seem to see any suggestions as to how the upper level of the DOC will be affected and cut.
Why are prisoners allowed to have an account to use for items such as food, candy, TV’s, MP-3 players and yet, are only charged a co-pay of about $5.00 for medical. With the basic’s that the state is required to provide to inmates, why are not charged higher co-pays for continued use of medical services?
As long as inmates are charged for medical services, once an inmates request for transfer is submitted and approved, as long as it’s an inmate request, this inmate should be charges a trnsportation fee. Only medical transfers (as directed by a MDOC/State doctor), should not be charged.
As far as the MPRI program goes. The real truth is that parole agents are not parole violateing inmates as they once did. It’s about keeping numbers down because the state was sold on the program and has to make it look as if it’s working. I know a retired agent and he explained to me how the program works. I would also ensure that inmates in the MPRI program are placed in areas that are not populated. There have been reports that they are being placed in hotels within city limits and in once case, two blocks from a local middle and high school. I have no real facts that this is the case and I would hope that it isn’t true.
I agree, there has to be tough choices. We all have to do more with less. I also hope that the Gov. elect will take a hard line when it comes to cuts at the top. After talking to co-workers, we all understand that cuts have to be made and we don’t or wouldn’t mind as long as we see that it starts at the top. The problem is, for many years we have been asked to take cuts and have see little to none from the top. It makes it hard to accept when we don’t see true leadership from the top.
Though I do agree with many of the things others have said, I for one feel that time will tell. Talk is cheap and until all politic’s are put aside and EVERYONE bares some of the burden, nothing will change. Results are what counts. By looking at the most recent polls, I think Republicans and Demacrates better wake up and show us that they not only can and are willing to work together but can be trusted again.
Theme 2 no. 3 , overtime/sick time….this rule has been changed for sometime.In order to get overtime pay you need to have 80hrs of reg. hrs.If you call in sick and then get an “overtime” on your regular day off you WILL NOT recieve the overtime pay.
When a person is sick they can not get paid overtime if they work a unscheduled day in the same week . No time and a half !
One concern is the state compares the pay of prison employees to other states yet the field agents will also have their pay reduced because the the MDOC has a all for one, one for all philosophy when it comes to pay increases and deductions. The boot camp is no longer “boot camp.” The failure rate of those paroled after attending bootcamp is the approximately the same as a regular parole. By the way, field agents do not get overtime, no matter what. If they work over on the last day of a pay period due to an emergency issue, the states makes them take time off the next pay period as “comp time.” They will not pay overtime. If an office loses one of its three employees for 3-4 months, the MDOC will not pay overtime (and will not have someone fill in). I believe in honesty, transparency and fiscal intelligence. I also expect the same thing from those who are requesting cuts.
All I can say is; I invite any of these people who are involved in the corrections coalition/Michigan government to go to any prison, for one whole day (it could be 16 hours long) and tell me that we don’t earn every penny that we earn! Once these criminals are off the streets and not bothering the public, they are forgotten. Nobody thinks of the people who deal with them on a daily basis, and do everything in their power to keep them in prison, and not escape.
I understand that cuts need to be made, and I also understand that the Corrections Department is under the gun. How about you start at the top? I don’t know how many days that the Warden, Dep. Warden(s) etc are not at work when the rest of us have to be away from our families on weekends and holidays. Lets be fair about these cuts is all I am saying.
They say that I made $58,616 back in 2008. Then they owe me $10,000 for 2008 not to mention the rest of the years. Be realistic and just don’t make up numbers. I don’t make even close to that now. There is 8,913 correction Officers and 51,515 prisoners. Prisoners have to be watched 24 hours a day. They have proven that. 8,913 divided by three shifts ,”2,971 Officers a shift.’ Thats Approx. 17 inmates per Officer. Don’t use the restroom because that would make it 34 to 1. Don’t take a lunch, 51 to 1. Most of them committed there crime by themself. Just think if 17 prisoners where let out of prison and moved into the house next to you. What would you do if they invited themselves over for dinner. Remember they have changed. There not the killers and rapest they used to be. We have to let them out. Maybe we can let the people of this great state pick the killers or rapests they would want living next to them. I would like to invite the Coalition to come and stand a post inside the gates at any prison in Michigan and then tell me I’m over paid or there are to many Officers.
You talk about prisoners as if they are dogs what the hell is the matter with you prison guards on your high horses about your high pay being cut. Police offers have a better chance of their life being in danger and they make half of what you do…..For all of you who work in the prison system i just have a few words for you….why do you feel its okay to treat prisoners as if they are not humans? talk down to them and treat them like dirt? if you were on the street with them would you do that? do you think that when an inmate assaults a guard its for no good reason? most of these guys have grown up on the streets and if someone talked to them the way you feel its necessary to talk to them you would find yourself on your back as well. Lets say someone approached you like that outside the prison walls what would you do? If you treat them with respect they will do the same, some of you push buttons just because you can. My brother has been assaulted twice in prison and nothing was done to the officers, you can tell yourself he deserved it but you know what goes on inside those walls. You can only treat someone like crap for so long before they get fed up.. prisoners or otherwise. I have seen the most rude and abnoxious prison guards in my 10 years of visiting different facilities my family has been in and its uncalled for is that what the state pays you to do? These prisoners have family, they have stories, history of violence and abuse and instead of being good role models you teach them its okay to act ignorant and cruel as long as you have a badge. Not all of the guards are like this but enough and that is the reason why the violence is escalting in the prisons. All the stuff they order the state makes money off of so why are you complaing about it? it should be mandatory in your schooling to spend 30 days locked up in one of those facilities to see what the food is like, the ambiance of the officers and the crap these prisoners have to tolerate. men who have brutally hurt children and are serious sex criminals are let loose before someone who has a drug charge or a larseny charge….prison is suppossed to be a rehabilitaiton concept not a lock them up and throw away the key concept. You have no idea what some of these men have seen in their lives or what they have had to tolerate from what life has dealt them, they are human they make mistakes and the time they serve away from their families and loved ones is a huge punishment for them and for us. God loves us all and it isnt your place to judge to these men its his so just do your job and leave the tough guy/gal crap at the door show some compassion, respect and responsibility for your inmates and maybe you’ll see a change.
Did anyone see who is making these suggestions?
The Presidents Council State Universities of Michigan. People with tons of theoretical fluff who sit in their ivory towers, demanding that their streets be safe. Apparently they think use peasants should be honored to serve them for free. Just the honor of serving them should be it’s own reward.
The Small Business Association of Michigan and the Michigan Manufacturers Association. Obviously they don’t grasp that if we have less disposable/discretionary income we’re NOT going to be spending it at their members businesses. They’re not content just raping their employees now they want to rape the rest of society too. I guess making only a few hundred thousand per year isn’t enough for them.
The Michigan Nonprofit Association. I wonder just how much money they take out of society and the state budget every year? It’s ironic and hypocritical of them to complain about and try to dictate where tax money that they don’t even pay is spent. I may consider taking them a bit more seriously if they give up their tax exempt status and actually start contributing to the solution instead of being a big part of the problem.
I wonder if any of these people have any idea what’s it like to run INTO a burning building or walk into someones house during their Christmas Day celebration to try to save Grandma who’s having and heart attack and dying in front of her familys eyes.
Or to arrive on the scene of an accident to find a 2 year old broken and bleeding.
Or walk into the business of a small business owner, responding to a drunk waving a gun around.
I ask those who authored and published this, how much would it take to get YOU to do any of these jobs? How much to get YOU to work in a prison, or as a fire fighter or police officer? If you’re willing to do it for less than those who are doing it now (like you’re advocating) please step up to the plate and apply.
If you’re not willing to do it for what they make please explain your hypocritical stance that they make too much. Obviously it’s not yet a fair wage if it’s not enough for you to do the job.
It was entertaining to read this piece of biased prose. We should submit it to some university professors for a grade on accuracy and honesty.
One “error” (or should I say misinformation”) is the misleading “fact” that the Corrections budget took only 2% of the budget in 1971. While this may be true, it’s deceiving. In 1971 Michigan also had many State Mental Hospitals where individuals who couldn’t function fully in society but were no danger to society were housed. Housed at a lower cost than keeping them in prison
Between liberals who thought this inhumane, and businesses who want services for free, most of those hospitals were closed. Many of those people who were housed in those “inhumane” places are now in prison (for sure a more “humane” environment). Either through not being aware of what they were doing because they were off their medications or looking for a place so they wouldn’t freeze or starve to death.
If you want to do a comparison from then to now, make it an accurate comparison. Compare cost of ALL the people who are in prison now to the same groups then.
In the 1990′s the taxpayers AND business “leaders” wanted to get tough on crime. Three strikes and your out, send more people to prison for longer periods of time for more minor offenses. The state gave you what y you asked for, what you wanted. Why are you complaining now?
If the state gives you what you’re asking for now in a decade you’re going to be back complaining about the number of criminals robbing your stores and wandering your streets.
Your other “facts” are also misleading. Yes the “prison” population has dropped, but yet the budget hasn’t, and inmate to staff ratio has stayed fairly constant.
The “prison” population has dropped because of MPRI and early paroles. Now the MDOC houses “low risk” prisoners in hotels and group homes, at tax-payer expense. It’s no savings, just a shift from keeping a prisoner in a secure environment and supervised by staff to a non-secure environment with little or no supervision. At the same cost. Apparently putting a child molester back in society to prey on children some more is no big deal as long as the Small Business Administration of Michigan Members save a few pennies on their taxes, after all they don’t live in the neighborhoods where these newly released felons are housed.
How many of those 15,856 MDOC Full time employees are Secretaries, Food Service supervisors, Parole Officers and other Non-Custody staff. People with little to no responsibility for keeping a prison safe and secure? While, for the most part, they’re helpful and make the prisons work better, it’s NOT the same as having an Officer inside, next to convicts, unarmed, keeping the taxpayers safe and other prisoners safe.
I just love the argument in this article. “Other states are doing it why can’t we?” Where have I heard this before? Oh, yeah, from my kids. “Suzy’s Mom lets her drink and have sex, why can’t I?”
But if we ARE going to use this let’s look at the way the other states do things.
In the Great Lakes States Region the average legislators pay is $55,683. With Indiana being the lowest at $11,600 and, surprise, Michigan being the highest at $79,650. Or 43% higher than average, and 686% higher than the lowest.
(source: : http://www.empirecenter.org/html/legislative_salaries.cfm)
The average corporate tax rate, excluding Ohio which charges $150 on above $150,000 to the $1 Million then .26% on everything over $1 Million, is 6.9%. It appears that Snyder thinks that Michigan should be BELOW average. The 2 highest corporate tax rates are Pennsylvania at 9.99% and Minnesota at 9.8%
(source: : http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/corp_inc.pdf)
If we’re going to use the Suzys Mom argument for public policy debates, I propose that do what the other states are doing and pay our legislators $11,600 per year and raise our corporate income tax rate to 9.99%
Snyder should be made aware that in financially troubled times the first course of action is to stop the bleeding, NOT open an artery, much less the carotid artery. He should also keep in mind he can’t pay the peasants peanuts, sell Michigan to the Chinese and walk away with a golden parachute.
It’s interesting that the states with the most dangerous prisoner populations, Illinois, New York and Michigan have almost the same salaries. No officer in Michigan makes $58,000 a year as well. The above three are the true comparison…unless you really think states like Minnesota have cities as dangerous as Detroit, Flint , Chicago, New York etc.Also this coalition after a careful study of the Michigan system have no comment about eliminating the $25,000,000 inmate payroll in Michigan but would rather take money and benefits away from Michigan Corrections officers instead. That $25 million pays for junk food, color TV’s and cable for every individual prisoner as well as microwaves and toasters to cook the junk food. While the prisoners snack on prisoner store snacks and food; the state prepared meals they should be eating are going in the garbage cans. Every prisoner in the state gets paid at some sort of job.. sweeping floors, cleaning, going to school, cooking in the kitchen. They take their pay and spend it in the store which withholds 8 per cent to pay for the inmate benefit fund that provides the cable TV contracts and all the above free garbage. The inmate benefit fund is derived from the salaries paid to inmates from your taxes. It’s a Texas Two Step that most citizens do not even know is happening. The money paid by the state to inmates is also used by these criminals to pay court ordered restitution to crime victims. So if your car was hijacked and wrecked the money you get from the low life convicted of the theft came out of your tax dollars, to an inmate job, to a court and back to your wallet. How’s it feel to find out you paid your own repair bill!!!!!!!!!! Corrections officers work long hard hours ; under constant threat of violence, and in continuous unmitigated stress which contributes to their average life expectancy of 57 years!! Then there are the prisoners who are subhuman enough to think that throwing feces and urine is an acceptable form of communication between adults. I would love to see any single member of this coalition do 8 hours alone inside the walls with a radio , a set of keys and then say cut their pay !
The outcome and recommendations of this Corrections Reform Coalition was preordained. Just looking at the makeup of the group is the biggest clue. There were no corrections, police or security professionals in the group. It is what Snyder wanted to hear. I have no doubt there are some cost savings measures that could be implemented, but, not to the extent that is expected. So the cost to the State will follow the old proverb,”pay me now or pay me later”, wherein the cost to society will be born by those who become victims of crime perpetrated by criminals who should still be incarcerated.
Strange… Didn’t know the chambers and universities were know prison experts. Their interest is not in the best interest of our state, just their personal wallets. Just release prisoners – where are they going to go? Just cut guards… Why don’t you work a week in there? You are putting guards lives at risk, but that’s ok if you can make another dollar profit. Greed!
Hi, i so agree with Angela Brown statments.As a ex-prison guard in a mens max prison in Mi.You need to treat everyone with diginty…it could be u one day.