Lynch proposes privatizing Berlin, turning it into regional contract facility

[KBCraig]

PDF download of Berlin Daily Sun:

http://www.laconiadailysun.com/BerlinPDF/2009/2/13B.pdf

Berlin prison featured in budget plans

BY BARBARA TETREAULT
THE BERLIN DAILY SUN

BERLIN — In his budget proposal yesterday, Governor John Lynch outlined plans to close the state prison in Laconia and convert a gym at the Berlin prison into a dorm to handle about 100 of the inmates.

He also announced the state is exploring the idea of converting the Berlin prison into a 2,000 to 3,000 bed regional facility with Maine and Vermont. The facility would be privately run, pay property taxes to the city, and provide additional jobs for the region.

Lynch is proposing to close the Laconia prison which Department of Corrections spokesman Jeffrey Lyons said has approximately 350 inmates. Lyons said the department will undertake a complete assessment of the inmate population there.

Those inmates eligible for parole would be assisted in completing the requirements to enable them to be released. Nonviolent inmates would be assessed for release on electronic monitoring. The state would accelerate federal deportation of nonviolent illegal immigrants.

To handle the remaining inmates, the state is planning to convert a gym at the Berlin prison into a dorm. Currently, there are 551 inmates at the Berlin prison. Lyons noted the infrastructure was built to accommodate 1,000 inmates with the expectation the state would add a second 500-bed unit.

The addition has yet to be funded.

The state will convert a gym into dorm space for minimum security inmates from Laconia. Renovation work on the gym will begin as early as next week.

“We’re going to use the existing structure,” said Lyons.

He said the number that end up at Berlin will depend on how many are paroled, deported, and released on home monitoring. An Associated Press report estimates the number at about 100 inmates.

Lyons said no additional staff positions will be created at Berlin to handle the Laconia inmates.

City Planner Pamela Lafl amme said she saw no problem with expanding the number of inmates at the existing prison.

Lynch spokesman Colin Manning said the governor is also exploring coordinating with Maine and Vermont to develop the Northern New Hampshire Correction Facility into a Northern New England Correctional Facility.

In his speech, Lynch said such a facility would potentially allow the state to close the Concord prison and reduce state operating costs as well as provide space for other New England inmates.

Part of the concept is to turn operation of the facility over to a private prison company that would pay property taxes to the city.

Lynch said it would also provide jobs to a part of the state that is struggling. Manning stressed the idea is still in the conceptual stage.

Mayor David Bertrand said Lynch called him earlier in the week to brief him on the idea.

Bertrand said the concept is still in its infancy stage and there is a long way to go.

“This is a fairly new idea,” he said.

Bertrand said he will be interested in the public reaction to the idea. When the idea of putting the women’s prison in Berlin was raised, Bertrand said the local response was lukewarm.

Still the mayor indicated he believes the potential jobs and tax revenues make the regional concept an idea worth studying.

“It definitely merits some consideration,” said Bertrand.

[KBCraig]

Just to be clear, this is the existing state prison, Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility, not to be confused with FCI Berlin, which is under construction.

Mayor Bertrand and the city council need to understand the downside of private facilities. Reeves County is a good recent example.

Contact form for the City of Berlin.

Gov. Lynch is trying to rein in the outrageous budget deficit that his party passed, and he signed into law last year, but he needs to understand that this is the wrong way to go about it. Berlin and the state would gain some property taxes from a private facility, but would also lose property taxes from (formerly) State employees who could no longer afford to live there on GEO/CCA/Wackenhut wages.

How much is the Reeves County fiasco going to cost the state of Texas in the end? Can we risk letting something like that happen to NH?

Contact Gov. Lynch.

[BOPSOS]

This is an existing prison own by the State of NH.The Bureau offered several time to by the prison from the State and they said "NO". Now that FCI Berlin is going up the state is kicking it's self.

[Blue42]

any new info on when FCI Berlin will start hiring?, looking at the real estate online seems cheap, but the tax? WOW retardid, not gonna be moving there