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Western Slope officials and Beacon graduates urge JBC to keep Rifle, Delta facilities open and preserve the Beacon at Skyline
Summary
County officials, local leaders and people with lived experience told the Joint Budget Committee that proposed closures of Rifle and Delta correctional centers and shifting programs away from Skyline's Beacon would harm rural economies and undermine a restorative program witnesses said requires a dedicated facility and selected participants.
Denver — Elected officials, community leaders and people with lived experience urged the Joint Budget Committee on Big Block of Cheese Day not to close or relocate minimum‑security correctional facilities on the Western Slope and to preserve the Beacon program at Skyline.
Speakers from Garfield, Moffat and Delta counties described the Rifle and Delta correctional centers as sources of steady, well‑paying jobs, local services and inmate work crews that support firefighting, weed control, Habitat for Humanity projects and county corrections meal contracts. Garfield County Commissioner Perry Will told the committee that closing Rifle would likely be “less than 1%” of the state budget benefit but a major economic hit to his region; Mayor Sean Stroud of Rifle said 56 facility jobs ripple through his town of roughly 10,600 residents.
Residents and formerly incarcerated speakers described the Beacon at Skyline as a restorative, minimum‑security program organized around voluntary applications and staff and resident buy‑in. Bradley Erickson, Jordan Morris and others who identified themselves as Beacon alumni described the program’s interview and selection process, leadership roles for residents, therapeutic circles, culinary and restorative‑justice activities, and the importance of a stable, peer‑committed culture that they said would be difficult to reproduce inside other facilities where populations are intermixed.
Local leaders and nonprofit partners — including Habitat for Humanity representatives — said incarcerated work crews from Rifle have provided labor for community projects for years, and that closures would reduce local capacity for wildfire mitigation, housing projects and other public works.
Departmental figures were debated during testimony: county witnesses disputed the state’s budget math on annual facility costs, saying local analyses put the cost savings of closures far lower than staff estimates. Witnesses asked the Joint Budget Committee to weigh regional economic impacts and community dependencies when considering closures tied to the governor’s broader budget reductions.
No formal action was taken in the hearing. Committee members asked follow‑up questions about whether the Beacon model could be reproduced in another prison and were told by Beacon alumni and supporters the program’s success depends on a selection process for participants and staff commitment. Supporters said they would work with the Department of Corrections to explore alternatives but cautioned that moving the program without repeating Skyline’s selection and culture risks undermining its effectiveness.
