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Appropriations panel trims some corrections staffing requests, approves new dental hires ahead of women's transfers
Summary
Lawmakers on the Appropriations — Human Resources Division discussed reductions and reclassifications of requested FTEs for Department of Corrections facilities, confirmed two dental hires to address a nine-month waiting list, and approved lower staffing for a Grand Forks contract while acknowledging higher operating costs.
Members of the Appropriations — Human Resources Division on Oct. 12 reviewed staffing and operating changes in the Department of Corrections’ budget, including reductions to requested full‑time equivalents (FTEs) at Heart River Correctional Center and changes at a temporary housing unit, and confirmed requests for two dental positions to address a backlog for inmates.
The committee heard that the department reduced an initial request of 26 new FTEs for Heart River Correctional Center (HRCC) to 7 FTEs in the House version of the budget, primarily to bring key security, staff development and human resources positions online before July 2027. Colby Braun, director for the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said, “We had the '26 FTE and those were primarily most of those are going to be starting in June of 27.” He added the seven positions named were “chief of security staff development and HR,” plus a warehouse position and two dental posts to prepare for transferring women into the system.
The department also told the committee it is asking for two dental positions — a dentist and a dental assistant — in this biennium to reduce what Braun described as “about a 9 month waiting list right now for people to get on dental call.” Braun said the additional dental capacity is intended to be in place before the transfer of women is completed so the facilities are ready to receive higher patient loads.
Michelle Zander, chief financial officer for the Department of Corrections, provided line‑item cost estimates tied to the staffing requests. The committee was told the 12.5 FTE package the department is seeking for a separate corrections temporary housing unit would cost about $1,149,127; the earlier seven‑FTE approach on that line was shown as approximately $1,000,150. Zander said the department adjusted some classification dates when the numbers changed.
Committee members also discussed a larger reduction at another site. The department originally requested 31.5 FTE for operations in Grand Forks but reduced that request to four FTEs; staff cautioned that the operating line for the contracted site will increase, with an approximate operating cost increase of $670,000 tied to contracting services rather than state personnel. "While we're down to just 4 FTE, ... the operating number will increase," a department staff member told the committee.
Lawmakers pressed department leaders on how staffing changes would affect assumed efficiencies from consolidating services. Members noted Dakota Women’s facility staff are county or regional employees and not state employees, which limits direct apples‑to‑apples comparisons of staffing savings in the near term. Braun said shared services such as commissary, medical and transport are expected to produce some synergies over time, but differences in facility size and services mean immediate comparisons to current staffing at New England (the existing women’s facility cited in the discussion) will be imperfect.
No formal votes were recorded during the exchange; committee leaders said they planned to resume after the floor session to address remaining amendments and move the bill to full committee.
The committee recessed to return after the floor session later the same day.
