A partial closure of Larch Corrections Center would yield minimal savings to the state over the long term compared with a full closure and would not do enough to help resolve the state’s budget crisis, according to a Washington Department of Corrections memo released Wednesday.
The memo outlines for the first time the costs as well as the savings the state expects to incur by closing the minimum-security prison.
It appears to shut the door on efforts by a dozen Southwest Washington legislators to reverse the closure decision. Transfers of staff and inmates will begin in March, and the prison is scheduled to close in June
“Closing any state facility presents challenges to both the state agencies involved and the local communities,” said the memo from Corrections Secretary Eldon Vail. “However, all state agencies must operate as efficiently as possible to help the state overcome a historic budget deficit.”
Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, questioned the savings estimates, which were developed by the departments of corrections and natural resources and the Office of Financial Management officials.
“The numbers don’t add up,” Orcutt said. “We’ll continue to talk to the agencies that are providing these numbers. I believe we have the commitment from the (Southwest Washington) delegation to keep this discussion open.”
According to Vail’s memo, full closure of the minimum-security prison in east Clark County would result in a net savings of $1.5 million in the 2010-11 fiscal year and $10.1 million every year thereafter.
If the state closed just one of the two 240-bed units, net savings would drop to $2.9 million beginning in 2011-12, Vail said.
Savings would come primarily from transferring inmates to prisons where costs are lower. The cost per offender at Larch is $73.65 per day. That compares with $69.80 per day at the Olympic Correctional Complex in Forks and $68.75 at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center in Thurston County.
Most Larch inmates are expected to transfer to McNeil Island prison near Tacoma, which will become a minimum-security prison. As of Tuesday, the inmate population at Larch had dropped from 480 to 338, mainly as a result of a freeze on new admissions.
On the cost side of the ledger, the state estimates that providing 24/7 security at the remote prison will cost $250,000 per year — a cost that will continue indefinitely.
The cost of moving corrections employees to other prisons depends on how many of Larch’s 114 employees request transfers. If 50 percent transfer, the cost is estimated at $228,000 this year. Already, some Larch staff members have accepted positions at other prisons and will be moving between now and the end of March.
Ending the Department of Natural Resources operation at Larch, which oversees inmate crews that fight fires and plant trees on DNR land, will cost the state $257,000 to $400,000 initially, according to Vail’s memo.
Those costs include paying contract crews up to $160,000 annually for fire suppression and $120,000 for tree planting on state land. DNR also will have to move or train 12 DNR employees who oversee inmate crews, at a cost of $30,000 to $120,000 in 2010.
The state did not estimate the costs to local governments, utilities and community groups of losing the work of the inmate crews.
After Larch closes, Vail said, work crews will be sent to Clark County from the Cedar Creek Correctional Center. “It will take at least two hours to transport offenders from Cedar Creek and there may be additional equipment and logistical needs,” he wrote. “However, that’s still faster and less expensive than using private crews, which typically require at least two to six hours to mobilize.”
Orcutt said he believes the costs of closing Larch, including providing around-the-clock security, are understated, while the savings are exaggerated. For example, he said, the use of inmate crews to plant trees along streams “makes salmon recovery dollars go further.”
“There’s a tremendous amount of lost benefit from closing Larch,” he said. “There’s a lot more investigation to be done before this case is closed and before Larch is closed.”
