Prison plan hits home in Elmore County

April 06--WETUMPKA -- Elmore County is ground zero of any prison reform efforts in the state. The county is home to five facilities operated by the Alabama Department of Corrections, which creates 595 jobs.

Elmore has the most correctional facilities of any county. The facilities here made up about 17 percent of the DOC's total 3,317 employees in November, the most recent figures available. So it's easy to see Elmore County has the most to lose if the facilities are moved to other locations in the state. And, the county can gain considerably if Elmore is picked as home to one of the three superprisons proposed to be built under the current plan winding its way through the statehouse.

Saying the reform process is fluid is an understatement. The current bill has made it out of the state Senate and is up for debate in the House. It can be amended and changed, which means a conference committee from both chambers must hash out the differences and then each chamber must pass the cobbled together version of the bill. Then it goes to Gov. Robert Bentley for his signature. And legislative days are ticking away. Then session is half over.

More:Alabama Senate approves prison construction plan

"It's best to be proactive," said Troy Stubbs, chairman of the Elmore County Commission. The county formed a prison task force months ago, made up of elected and community leaders in the county. The total DOC payroll in Elmore County is $30 million, he said.

"We are the most exposed county in the state," he said. "We are closely following what is going on in Montgomery, because any economic impact here in Elmore County would be substantial. We are going to do everything we can to protect the best interests of the people of Elmore County."

The Plan

The DOC operates 16 major correctional facilities in the state, and 13 community based facilities/community work centers. A need for reform is evident. The current facilities are aging, and the entire system is over capacity. On March 31, there were 22,773 inmates in the prisons, the system was built for 13,318, DOC figures showed. And the specter of a federal takeover of the system looms large.

The original reform plan put forth by Bentley, with an $800 million price tag, would have replaced the current facilities with four new prisons, three prisons for men with 4,000 beds each and a woman's prison with 1,200 beds.

Under the current plan, the women's prison has been removed from the tally of new prisons. Facilities at Tutwiler Prison for Women, in Wetumpka, would be renovated.

As far as any new prisons go, counties could form building authorities to float bonds to pay for construction of a prison, built to DOC specs, within the county. The DOC would then lease the facility from the county at up to $13.5 million a year and pay operating expenses. The state would take of ownership of the prisons over time.

Other Capitol news:Ala. Senate leader Del Marsh: Bentley should resign

Bentley's original proposal was to close the correctional facilities in the state and leave the community based facilities and community work centers alone. Under the current plan, the state will build a facility only if two counties build theirs. Then the state's men's prisons would be consolidated into six facilities, the three new mega-prisons and three what's best described as "survivors" from the current locations.

State Sen, Clyde Chambliss, R- Prattville, likes the plan. His district includes Elmore County.

"Senate Bill 302 allows for three new prisons, thereby reducing the overcrowding problem and increasing the safety of our correctional officers and wardens," he said. "It should also decrease recidivism -- the cycle of prison reentry -- by allowing appropriate facilities for the programs so desperately needed by those about to be released.

"The Legislation includes local communities by allowing them to participate in the process, giving them control of their own destiny, instead of a top down approach where the Legislature picks who gets a state prison and who does not. It also removes the design build components of the proposal, which concerned many."

The Impact

The total payroll for DOC statewide in fiscal year 2014 was about $243.25 million, compared to $251.59 in 2015 and 243.52 in 2016, DOC figures reflect. The increase from 2014 to 2015 was due to employees receiving $1.6 million in bonuses, $3 million in overtime and $3 million in merit raises, said Bob Horton, a spokesman for DOC. There was a decrease from 2015 to 2016 because there were 400 less employs than the previous year, he said.

In depth look:Alabama corrections officers' ranks drop 20 percent

It's not just jobs in Elmore County that are at risk. Employees live in the surrounding counties and drive into Elmore for work.

"It is a regional issue," Stubbs said. "Any movement will have an affect not only on Elmore County, but also the counties that are contiguous to Elmore County, and Central Alabama as a whole."

So it's sales tax dollars that are in play if the jobs go away, along with property taxes, which drive local governments' budgets.

Jobs won't go away under the new prison construction plan, you still need people to work the facilities. But, if a prison moves several counties away, some current employees may not make the move. Life gets in the way: Children are happy at school, employees may have just paid off the mortgage and decide not to travel several counties away and start over.

"There are other factors in play as well," Stubbs said.

"Look at water and sewer service for instance," Stubbs continued. "You have utilities in Elmore County that provide vital services and resources to the prisons. Some people overlook that element when they are calculating what the prisons mean for the local, and regional economy."

For Will Sherman, any loss of prisons jobs in the county would have a ripple effect. He operates a lawn care service and has "a few" DOC employees as customers. He was filling up his Dodge pickup, pulling a tandem-axle trailer loaded with lawnmowers and other equipment, recently at the Chevron Station on Highway 143 in Elmore.

"It's not just the possibility of losing the prison system employees as customers," he said. "If there is less money around, that means less money for other businesses. If they have to start cutting back, they'll start looking at lawn service as soon as their contracts expire.

"So yeah, a lot of people up here are very nervous, wondering just what is going to happen."

This small town in the western side of the county is where any drama would play out. Within just a few miles of the highways 14 and 143 intersection there is Elmore, Draper and Staton correctional facilities. In a large part, prisons are the industry that drives Elmore County.

In Elmore, passing white Department of Corrections marked pickups on the roads is as common an occurrence as passing kudzu patches and pine trees.

Karen Reeves has lived in Elmore County all her life, and the prisons are "just part of the county."

"It's part of what normal is in Elmore County," she said. "Other people might be freaked out by having three big prisons within five or six miles of your house. But here, it's just normal."

The task force is working to ensure Elmore County is part of any discussion when it comes to siting a new prison, he said.

"The state owns land in Elmore County," Stubbs said. "We have the trained workforce in place. Elmore County has to be an option. If we land one of these mega-prisons, not only would we preserve the jobs we have, we could net several hundred additional jobs."

About 125 miles south of Wetumpka, on the Alabama-Florida line, Escambia County is in much the same situation as Elmore. The county has Holman Correctional Facility, which employs 78 security staff and 38 support staff and Fountain Correctional Facility, with 103 security staff and 26 support staff.

Escambia has developed a wait-and-see approach, said County Commission Chairman David Stokes.

"All we hear is rumor and innuendo," he said. "The Legislature is playing volleyball with the issue. No one has a clue what's going to come out of the House. Or even if the reform bill will pass this session."

He sees a clear path forward, if the bill passes.

"The logical thing is for Elmore and Escambia counties to be the locations for any new prisons," he said. "The state owns property in each county, we have the trained staff in place. I-65 runs right through Escambia County, I-65 goes through Elmore County. Each county has a state road network, so transportation won't be a problem.

"To me, that makes the most sense."

Prisons in Elmore County

Draper Correctional Facility: Employs 95 security staff and 39 support staff.

Elmore Correctional Facility: Employs 99 security staff and 33 support staff.

Staton Correctional Facility: Employs 112 security staff and 35 support staff.

Tutwiler Prison for Women: employs 111 security staff and 27 support staff.

Frank Lee Community Based Facility/Community Work Center: Employs 116 security staff and 45 support staff.

Source: Alabama Department of Corrections.

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