What does the future hold for Camp Pharsalia?
PHARSALIA – Dicussions of Gov. Spitzer’s proposed budget and now the approval of civil confinement legislation have many people wondering what the future holds for Camp Pharsalia.
In a meeting with union regional vice president of the state Corrections Officers and Police Benevolent Association Tom Haas Wednesday, issues regarding Camp Pharsalia and Spitzer’s proposed budget were discussed.
“Camp Pharsalia is in the budget and has always been in the budget. The one year former Governor Pataki tried to remove it, the legislature put it back in,” Haas said.
Haas expressed the viewpoint representing all officers and sergeants at the minimum security facility, regarding the creation of a closure committee Spitzer wants included in the next fiscal year budget to look at which prisons across the state should remain operational and which should be shut down.
“We are trying to fight this,” said Haas.
“If the closure committee is created and the jails in small communities such as Georgetown and Pharsalia close, it will be devastating,” said Haas. He says Pharsalia is on a level playing field with the other 70-plus facilities throughout the state.
Closing Pharsalia would be detrimental for communities as a whole, Haas said, due to the fact that the camp serves as a work camp and the benefits the community gain from their services is great. Whether it be waxing floors or painting churches, Haas said the inmates can do the job for free as long as materials are provided. The communities save a lot of money and the prison itself spends money throughout these local communities and helps aid local economies. Haas says the services offered by the facility, he hopes, will be utilized more, but they maintain a decent workload already.
The discussion making and headaches that have been encountered by politicians and corrections administrators, as well as the union, stem back years to a plan to close jails throughout the state and another to build civil confinement facilities. Pataki and Spitzer agree that the number of inmates has decreased by over 8,000 in the past five years, therefore the empty beds equals closures of the jails. Haas says the decrease in inmates is over a period of time, and last year alone the number actually rose by 560.
If the closure committee is established, Haas explains that the process takes time.
“If the budget is passed on time, the one year notification would have to be made by Dec. 31 of this year and the earliest the facilities could close would be Jan. 1 2009,” Haas said.
As prisons are closed, it is unknown whether the new governor will go forth with Pataki’s original plans to transform Camp Pharsalia into a civil confinement facility, housing dangerous sex offenders after their original jail sentences are complete. Pataki’s plan, which never made it through the budgeting process, called for $130 million for the demolition of the current minimum security correctional facility and construction of a 500-bed civil confinement site in its place. The new facility was estimated to provide 1,000 new jobs with an annual payroll of $80 million.
In a meeting with union regional vice president of the state Corrections Officers and Police Benevolent Association Tom Haas Wednesday, issues regarding Camp Pharsalia and Spitzer’s proposed budget were discussed.
“Camp Pharsalia is in the budget and has always been in the budget. The one year former Governor Pataki tried to remove it, the legislature put it back in,” Haas said.
Haas expressed the viewpoint representing all officers and sergeants at the minimum security facility, regarding the creation of a closure committee Spitzer wants included in the next fiscal year budget to look at which prisons across the state should remain operational and which should be shut down.
“We are trying to fight this,” said Haas.
“If the closure committee is created and the jails in small communities such as Georgetown and Pharsalia close, it will be devastating,” said Haas. He says Pharsalia is on a level playing field with the other 70-plus facilities throughout the state.
Closing Pharsalia would be detrimental for communities as a whole, Haas said, due to the fact that the camp serves as a work camp and the benefits the community gain from their services is great. Whether it be waxing floors or painting churches, Haas said the inmates can do the job for free as long as materials are provided. The communities save a lot of money and the prison itself spends money throughout these local communities and helps aid local economies. Haas says the services offered by the facility, he hopes, will be utilized more, but they maintain a decent workload already.
The discussion making and headaches that have been encountered by politicians and corrections administrators, as well as the union, stem back years to a plan to close jails throughout the state and another to build civil confinement facilities. Pataki and Spitzer agree that the number of inmates has decreased by over 8,000 in the past five years, therefore the empty beds equals closures of the jails. Haas says the decrease in inmates is over a period of time, and last year alone the number actually rose by 560.
If the closure committee is established, Haas explains that the process takes time.
“If the budget is passed on time, the one year notification would have to be made by Dec. 31 of this year and the earliest the facilities could close would be Jan. 1 2009,” Haas said.
As prisons are closed, it is unknown whether the new governor will go forth with Pataki’s original plans to transform Camp Pharsalia into a civil confinement facility, housing dangerous sex offenders after their original jail sentences are complete. Pataki’s plan, which never made it through the budgeting process, called for $130 million for the demolition of the current minimum security correctional facility and construction of a 500-bed civil confinement site in its place. The new facility was estimated to provide 1,000 new jobs with an annual payroll of $80 million.
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