Governorproposal seeks nearly $459 million in amended FY25 to boost Georgia prisons staffing, contraband interdiction and facility repairs

ATLANTA — The governor's office and the Georgia Department of Corrections presented a multi-part budget package to the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on prisons seeking $458.7 million in the amended FY25 budget and $144.6 million in FY26 to address staffing shortfalls, contraband brought by cell phones and drones, aging lock and control systems, and rising health-care costs.

The proposal, presented to the subcommittee by Commissioner Tyrone for the Department of Corrections, would fund hiring and compensation changes, technological investments such as managed-access cell-phone interdiction and officer tablets, expanded drone detection and digital forensics capacity, and large capital outlays including modular housing units and lock-control replacements.

The governor's recommendations incorporate consultant findings from Guidehouse, the Moss Group and CGL, Commissioner Tyrone said, and divide items into near-term operational requests (staffing, tablets, body cameras) and capital or multi-year projects (modular units, lock replacements, a proposed long-term acute care unit).

Staffing and pay: Commissioner Tyrone said the department currently lists about 26,100 open positions systemwide and is proposing targeted hires and pay adjustments rather than attempting to fill the entire vacancy count immediately. The package includes funding to add 882 correctional officers (presented as phased hires) and career-path salary schedule changes; a separate FY26 line would provide a 4% salary increase for correctional officers. Tyrone said hiring and net retention has improved recently: the department netted 672 officers in FY23, 569 in FY24 and 243…