St. Johnsbury prison could close
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By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau - Published: March 12, 2009
MONTPELIER – Gov. James Douglas' administration on Wednesday proposed balancing the upcoming 2010 budget by eliminating 320 state jobs, shifting some responsibilities to local communities and closing a St. Johnsbury prison.
Secretary of Administration Neale Lunderville told reporters Wednesday afternoon that these reductions would save the state about $11.2 million in next year's budget. Coupled with the use of stimulus and other funds, it will close the $200 million gap between the state's expected costs and its expected tax revenues.
That is, of course, if the governor can come to agreement with the Vermont Legislature on the plan.
Douglas had initially suggested cutting 600 state jobs, but his administration was trying to find other spending cuts to avoid layoffs any deeper than the 320 proposed Wednesday.
"Finding this many positions was very, very difficult," Lunderville said. "These are not just numbers and titles to us. These are our friends and colleagues and people we work with every day."
If this plan were approved, 194 jobs would be cut from the Vermont Agency of Human Services, including 38 employees in the Department of Health, 40 in the Department of Children and Families and 67 in the Department of Corrections.
Sen. Susan Bartlett, D-Lamoille, the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Wednesday afternoon that she had not yet seen the latest workforce reduction proposal, but stressed that she and other lawmakers want to avoid laying off as many state workers as possible.
She said she hopes lawmakers can find creative ways to use federal stimulus funds to modernize state government in a way that makes it cheaper to operate, but doesn't affect the services that Vermonters enjoy.
"I don't think we want to see another massive round of lay-offs of state workers, especially since most of the vacant positions have already been cut," Bartlett said.
At the center of these cuts is the proposed closing of the Northeast Regional Correctional Facility in St. Johnsbury, where about 140 inmates live. Human Services Secretary Robert Hofmann said it was difficult to decide which of the state's eight correctional facilities to close – but this one made the list because of its proximity to the work camp in St. Johnsbury.
Hofmann said the closing would eliminate 67 jobs at that facility – for a savings of $1.8 million – and shipping most of those prisoners to out-of-state facilities, where the annual cost of housing and caring for criminals is half of what it costs in Vermont.
"St. Johnsbury is the one that we identified because there already is a large, all-male prison within a one-hour drive in Newport," Hofmann said.
Some of the proposed cuts rely on shifting responsibilities to local communities, the federal government and other organizations. This includes the elimination of the red meat inspection program in the Vermont Department of Agriculture, which administration officials say is the responsibility of the federal government.
The list of the 320 suggested jobs to be cut includes everything from a nutritionist in the Health Department, domestic violence specialist in the Department of Children and Families and the deaf services director in the Vermont Department of Ageing and Independent Living.
Other shifts include having milk handlers inspect the conditions at Vermont dairy farms, having local Humane Societies conduct animal health field work, pushing more responsibilities to local solid waste districts and having local school districts oversee the state's home school program.
The budget plan also relies on other staff cuts in the following departments and agencies: Human Resources, Finance and Management, Information and Innovation, Taxes, Mental Health, Office of Vermont Health Access, Fish and Wildlife, Education, Liquor Control, Public Service Board, Public Service Department and Natural Resources Board.
Other cuts proposed in the 2010 budget include:
Eliminating 40 jobs in the Department of Children and Families by moving forward a planned modernization of the department.
Consolidating district health offices
Closing the last two state libraries in Berlin and St. Johnsbury
Eliminating the Public Oversight Commission in the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration
Finance Commissioner Jim Reardon said he notified the 320 state workers earlier on Wednesday that their jobs were on the proposed cut list. He said he wanted to do that before the list was made public later that afternoon.
"This has been a very difficult day for everyone," he said.
Vermont State Employees Association Director Jes Kraus said there is a major difference between public and private sector work.
"In the private sector you cut jobs or make cuts because you don't have enough business," Kraus said. "We have too much."
The proposed layoffs would hit workers doing jobs Vermonters need most right now, from helping those in need apply for welfare to work programs to ensuring they get health care.
"In a bad economic year you need more of that, not less and less," Kraus said.
Contact Daniel Barlow at Daniel.Barlow@timesargus.com.
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