State to cut prison work crews- Municipal officials criticize move

Are you serious? OVERTIME? Please help me to understand this? Are they paying the overtime to inmates? Or to the staff? The inmates should be doing it for free for the crimes they have commited and they should be happy to be able to be outside the prison walls. I just do not understand.

Angel1986 wrote:

Are you serious? OVERTIME? Please help me to understand this? Are they paying the overtime to inmates? Or to the staff? The inmates should be doing it for free for the crimes they have commited and they should be happy to be able to be outside the prison walls. I just do not understand.

Right now they are paying overtime to staff in other facilities to cover the needs of those facilities since cuts did not allow them to hire replacements. They want to close the facility that supplies the inmates for projects outside the prison system itself and move the staff to other facilities. That will save them overtime.

"Prison work crews, a longtime fixture on local lawn-mowing, snow-shoveling and grounds maintenance duty for Michigan communities, are being shut down in a budget-cutting move by state officials"

So the state is saying, we are cutting off your access to slave labor because its a drain on the states budget concerning prisons.
So now local communities who have made use of this slave labor will have to pay there own employees to do this work, which in turn will decrease local tax dollars that would have been used for other programs.
Now local taxing authority will need to increase local taxes to cover this loss.
Yes sir, we need more regulations, rules, laws and stuff so we the citizens can pay more of our money to them in the form of taxes.
AND THE WHEEL TURNS....

uncle Buck wrote:

Angel, I want to have sexy time with you!!!

Please leave me alone you creep.

Gentle Taz wrote:

<quoted text>
Right now they are paying overtime to staff in other facilities to cover the needs of those facilities since cuts did not allow them to hire replacements. They want to close the facility that supplies the inmates for projects outside the prison system itself and move the staff to other facilities. That will save them overtime.

ahhhh I see. Thank you for clearing that up for me.

Angel1986 wrote:

<quoted text>
ahhhh I see. Thank you for clearing that up for me.

Taz,
You cleared this up for Angel but I am still confused.
Does your explanation mean taxes won't increase?
Yeah buddy...right..but
Check this out I know it belongs in the venting thread.

Mentors for migrant children needed

http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/3090319...

I still vote for the death penelty to be for convicts in Michigan. It is getting very stupid to waste money on the them being in prison and getting all they wish for to have pleasure; as TV, Internet, weights, pen-pals and more. Life for a life, life for an eye and rapes.

James wrote:

<quoted text>
Taz,
You cleared this up for Angel but I am still confused.
Does your explanation mean taxes won't increase?
Yeah buddy...right..but
Check this out I know it belongs in the venting thread.
Mentors for migrant children needed
http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/3090319...

No, I don't think that you can say that taxes won't increase as a blanket statement. This probably won't change taxes at the state level, as it will somewhat reduce state expenditures. It could very likely increase local taxes, depending on how they handle it. They will have to replace the prisoners' labor somehow, or drastically change how they do some of their festivals, etc.

As to the article in the Grand Haven paper, I suspect they are talking about what used to be all the migrant workers in this area, born and raised in Texas and all US citizens, but pretty much Spanish speaking with little or limited English capability. I don't have any problem with helping these kids. They deserve what any US citizen gets.

Put the convicts to death or to say peacefully, "SLEEP". There is no reason why convicts should be able to live off tax payers' money and time. Convicts enjoy prison for they get room and board and everything else they want.

James wrote:

"Prison work crews, a longtime fixture on local lawn-mowing, snow-shoveling and grounds maintenance duty for Michigan communities, are being shut down in a budget-cutting move by state officials"
So the state is saying, we are cutting off your access to slave labor because its a drain on the states budget concerning prisons.
So now local communities who have made use of this slave labor will have to pay there own employees to do this work, which in turn will decrease local tax dollars that would have been used for other programs.
Now local taxing authority will need to increase local taxes to cover this loss.
Yes sir, we need more regulations, rules, laws and stuff so we the citizens can pay more of our money to them in the form of taxes.
AND THE WHEEL TURNS....

This is not even close to slave labor... those punks who commit crimes and are paying their debt to society by getting out on a couple days a week mowing lawns like teens do on weekends.

What they should have them doing is learning something useful and put them out there REALLY working hard.
Making them build HUD homes... teach them a real skill. Not just mowing lawns & shoveling snow.

But even if that is all there is, work them.
Nothing wrong with teaching lazy thieves, drug dealers & wife beaters how to work.

Our taxes pay to house those punks.

How is this part of BUDGET CUTS? These inmates should not be paid for working. They should be REPAYING taxpayers for all of the money they are costing us while incarcerated.

Just more of the "Granholm-style" of thinking that has turned this state into an absolute mess...

Taxpayer wrote:

How is this part of BUDGET CUTS? These inmates should not be paid for working. They should be REPAYING taxpayers for all of the money they are costing us while incarcerated.
Just more of the "Granholm-style" of thinking that has turned this state into an absolute mess...

It has nothing to do with "Granholm-style" of thinking, whatever that is.

It's part of BUDGET CUTS because you will no longer be paying for 1) the officers who are monitoring the prisoners doing the work in the community or 2) OVERTIME to cover the positions of the officers inside the facility while they are supervising the prisoners who are working off-site.

People want to complain about how much corrections officers make in overtime? Fine, then hire more of them and then there will be less overtime. And, no, I'm not a C/O, nor am I associated with any.

Work crews are only allowed at minimum security (level I) facilities. Generally, level I inmates are “short time” and on their way to being filtered back into society. If the crime of an inmate involved any type of violence, they are prohibited from working outside of the facility. In most (not all) instances, they perform tasks that others are unwilling to do and this is generally the issue … Who can compete with a man (the inmate) who is working hard for 1.50 per day? Snow removal, logging (opening trails/roads on state land) and in the UP… breaking up beaver dams. Inmates on these crews (as well as those working inside the facilities) are paid up to .25 cents per hour on average. This pay keeps the prisoner from being deemed indigent. If indigent, all necessities (soap, t. paste, deodorant, etc…) are provided at taxpayer expense. By paying a prisoner (also at taxpayer expense), not only must he/she purchase their own necessities, a small profit is made offsetting the overall costs of housing an individual. Let alone the little ‘kickbacks” per institution for providing cheap labor to outside sources. This has been going on in every state for many, many years. Profit is the name of the game.

Also a Taxpayer wrote:

<quoted text>
It has nothing to do with "Granholm-style" of thinking, whatever that is.
It's part of BUDGET CUTS because you will no longer be paying for 1) the officers who are monitoring the prisoners doing the work in the community or 2) OVERTIME to cover the positions of the officers inside the facility while they are supervising the prisoners who are working off-site.
People want to complain about how much corrections officers make in overtime? Fine, then hire more of them and then there will be less overtime. And, no, I'm not a C/O, nor am I associated with any.

You don't know the "tax and spend for welfare and other social garbage" style of Granholm's administrative decisions??? Do you LIVE in Michigan?

WE should put all the democrats in prison that voted for our govenor and leave the prisoners run the state.