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State prisons, social facilities in crosshairs

Efficiency: Consultant will be paid to decide which operations to close

JOSEPH TURNER; The News Tribune | • Published August 14, 2009

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An Olympia consultant has begun a study that could lead to closure of the prison on McNeil Island and other facilities operated by state prison and social service agencies.

Christopher Murray and Associates of Olympia will be paid $462,000 to examine not only the state prison system, but state facilities that house juvenile criminals and the developmentally disabled.

The contract was awarded last month.

The study was authorized after lawmakers this past legislative session were unable to agree on which facilities should be closed. The study, which will be overseen by Gov. Chris Gregoire’s budget office, seeks to determine how much money can be saved over the next two years by shutting down the least efficient facilities of the Department of Corrections, Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration and Residential Habitation Centers.

The Democrat-controlled state Senate introduced a budget that would have shut down McNeil Island prison and moved its 1,300 inmates elsewhere. The House did not.

Similar stalemates were reached when it came to deciding whether to close Green Hill or Maple Lane schools for teenage criminals and whether to close centers for the developmentally disabled in Yakima, Shoreline, Bremerton, Medical Lake or Buckley.

The state budget for 2009-11 assumes the state can save $12 million.

“We don’t consider that a target,” said Adam Aaseby, one of two Gregoire budget office advisers who are working with the consultants on the feasibility study. “If they can find ways to save more than $12 million – fine. If it’s less, then we’ll bring it up to the Legislature (in 2010).”

The consultants are supposed to produce a draft report by Oct. 1 and a final report to the Legislature and governor by Nov. 1.

For the past month, the consultants have visited all five state-fun facilities for the developmentally disabled. That includes Rainier School in Buckley. They also visited the McNeil Island prison and state penitentiary in Walla Walla and will be going to prisons in Monroe and Pine Lodge over the next two weeks, he said.