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Interim corrections commissioner warns staffing, overtime and morale strains as committee approves $10 million request
Summary
The Fiscal Committee approved an item for the Department of Corrections after hearing from interim commissioner John Skippa about staffing shortages, preliminary layoff notices to 18 employees, double-time overtime and potential litigation risks due to reduced staffing.
The Fiscal Committee approved an emergency funding request for the Department of Corrections on June 20 after officials described staffing shortages, recent layoff notices and elevated overtime costs.
John Skippa, director of the Police Centers and Training and interim commissioner of the Department of Corrections, told the committee the department has issued preliminary layoff notices to 18 employees pending final budget actions. Skippa said the notices stem from the budget process for the next biennium and that the layoffs had been noticed but “haven't been executed fully.” He added that the department has been addressing increased compensation obligations: “there was increases in pay through the collective bargaining agreements that were, completed after last biennium's budget was established,” and that some correctional officers were paid at double-time rates to meet minimum staffing levels.
When Representative Leishman asked whether overtime is paid at double time if someone is forced to work overtime, Director Lisa Stone, who oversees finances for the department, answered in the affirmative: “Yes.” Skippa said the department closed one section of a housing unit as a result of a reduced inmate population, which “reduced that by, I would assume several shifts a day” of forced overtime, but that staffing remains short.
Skippa described morale and operational risk: the department has received negative media attention and employees are “very concerned about their... livelihood,” he said, adding that reductions in staffing could have consequences for the state's ability to meet statutory and constitutional obligations and might increase the risk of litigation. On the department's leadership, Skippa said his appointment is temporary and that the governor’s office is seeking a permanent commissioner; he said his role is to maintain day-to-day operations and prepare for an orderly handoff.
Senator Gray moved the item and Representative Leishman seconded; the committee approved the request by voice vote. The transcript records the motion as FIS 25 1 51 and the item’s adoption on the record.
