Tallahassee, FL – Today, Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith issued the following statement in response to the announcement the Florida Department of Corrections, at the direction of Gov. Rick Scott, will close seven prisons, eliminating an estimated 1,293 jobs:
“Today, Governor Rick Scott continued to implement his extreme Tea Party agenda that has eliminated jobs and moved our state in the wrong direction. At the Governor’s request, the Department of Corrections will close seven prisons and eliminate nearly 1,300 jobs.
“As a former State Attorney, I know firsthand many of these prisons house some of the most difficult inmates in the system. I continue to believe it is wrong to reward the Governor’s political cronies with taxpayer funded contracts to oversee Florida’s inmate population at the expense of hardworking Floridians.”
Please see below information on state prison closures along with estimated job losses:
Prison name
Total
Capacity
FTE
reductions
Est. FY11-12
Savings
Est. FY12-13
Savings
Closure
Date
Broward CI
611
50
$210,281
$2,523,371
May 1, 2012
Demilly CI
342
118
$—
$6,068,260
June 1, 2012
Gainesville CI
507
150
$3,012,948
$9,038,845
Feb. 1, 2012
Hillsborough CI
431
115
$2,078,663
$8,314,653
Mar 1,2012
Indian River CI
381
155
$668,994
$8,027,931
May 1, 2012
Jefferson CI
1179
177
$1,705,057
$10,230,340
April 1, 2012
New River CI
1362
281
$3,961,002
$17,644,740
Mar 1,2012 CI
April 1, 2012 O
Levy Forestry Camp
292
65
$1,295,421
$3,886,263
Feb. 1, 2012
Hendry Work Camp
280
74
$—
$4,028,832
June 1, 2012
Caryville Work Camp
133
31
$576,264
$1,728,792
Feb. 1, 2012
River Junction Work Camp
736
77
$1,422,818
$4,269,454
Feb. 1, 2012
Total
1,293
$14,931,448
$75,760,481
Full details on prison closures can be found here: http://www.abc-7.com/story/16506748/2012/01/12/state-closing-7-prisons-4-work-camps