Sutton prison could see cuts

SUTTON — With major fiscal trouble looming, the state’s Department of Corrections says that part of its plan to meet Gov. Bill Walker’s request that departments slash budgets involves closing a portion of the Palmer Correctional Center.

“The governor has made it very clear that all departments need to look at, over the next four years, a 25 percent reduction,” said DOC Commissioner Ronald Taylor at a legislative subcommittee hearing on Feb. 16.

He said that Palmer Correctional’s minimum security unit is the one the reduced budget targets. The 167 inmates inside would either be put on ankle monitors for the remainder of their sentences or transferred to halfway houses.

He pointed out that the cost to house an inmate in a prison averages $142 per day. The cost at Palmer Correctional is more like $123. By contrast, the cost per day to keep a person on an ankle monitor is just $23 to $24 per day.

Taylor explained this idea under questioning from Rep. Jim Colver, R-Palmer, who asked about plans for the prison in future budget cycles.

“I understand that perhaps the plan might be to eventually close that facility,” Colver said.

If budget cuts continue, Taylor replied, the department will have to look at closing entire facilities. The Palmer Correctional Center is on that list.

“We’ll probably be looking at going out of state and shipping our inmates out of state,” Taylor said.

He said contracting with out-of-state firms to house Alaska prisoners is much cheaper than housing them in state.

In a phone interview, Colver said he brought the issue up with Taylor because it affects his district, which includes Palmer.

“Where are those inmates going to go, and is our community going to be at risk?” he asked.

Ankle monitors, he pointed out, don’t supervise a person as well as even a minimum security prison.

He said he is also worried about the cost to Mat-Su.

“That would be an economic hit to the Valley, because those folks that work out there at the minimum facility probably live in Palmer and Wasilla and throughout the Valley,” Colver said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.