The head of Florida’s troubled prison system is optimistic as budget talks continue. The House and Senate have agreed, for the most part, on the funding, with a few things that still need to be ironed out.
This year, there’s been a big emphasis on funding the Florida Department of Corrections. Sen. Joe Negron (R-Stuart), who headed the criminal budget talks, says the prison budget reflects a lot of what new DOC Secretary Julie Jones wants.
“And, I have confidence in her [Jones] ability to make the department of well-functioning, safe department, and so we wanted to make sure she had the tools available to accomplish that. And, I think with a $43 million increase, that that will cover the vast majority of the requests that she made to us.”
Among the priorities are taking care of staffing levels and fixing deteriorating buildings. Jones says she got most of what she asked for.
“From my initial assessment as a new Secretary, they’ve fully funded all of my requests for FTE [full-time employees] and salary dollars, which is outstanding,” said Jones, speaking to reporters Tuesday.
She’d also asked for $15 million for maintenance and repair.
“We need constant attention our needs currently and future needs for fixed capital outlay and repair of facilities, but they’ve come across with almost $8 million,” she added. “So, that’s a very good start.”
One of the areas still under budget consideration is whether to increase the funding for the inmate health care services contracts.
For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: @SaschaCordner.
