Officeholders Look to Rally Support for CCA Prison
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Officeholders and members of the business community will amplify the Corrections Corporation of America's message in an effort to save hundreds of jobs and preserve millions of dollars in revenue.
At a meeting at the Covelli Centre, CCA representatives received an enthusiastic response to their call for public support to keep its Northeast Ohio Corrections Center in Youngstown open and fully staffed.
"So the next six weeks are really critical for us as far as a call to action," Jeb Beasley, managing director of Federal and Local Partnership Development at CCA told an audience of about 40. CCA's contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons expires in May 2015 and it's looking to arrive at and sign a new contract with the bureau.
The Bureau of Prisons has indicated it wants to consolidate to a single prison in a seven-state district, thus placing the Youngstown site in direct competition with that at Phillipsburg, Pa. The prison that fails to win the new contract will have to scale back or close. Beasley says a decision from the Bureau of Prisons will likely be made in the second quarter, so a big push is needed now until February.
"Obviously price will come into play but local support is critical," he said, recalling when CCA faced a similar situation at one of its prisons in Georgia and thousands of letters of support helped the company win a new 10-year contract. "So we have people who started their careers and who will retire from there," he remarked.
The Bureau of Prisons contracts with CCA to house some 1,500 inmates at its prison here. Another 500 are incarcerated there under a separate contract with the U.S. Marshal Service. The BOP wants to house 2,000 inmates at one site in the seven-state district.
On average, employees at the Northeast Ohio Correction Center earn $50,000 annually plus benefits and a 401(k) plan. Seventy-percent of CCA’s costs in running the prison are personnel, and the starting wage is set by geographical comparisons compiled by the Department of Labor. Here, the mandated starting wage is $19.54 an hour; in Phillipsburg, it’s $21.65.
Should the prison close, said Steve Owen, a CCA spokesman, the impact on the community would be significant. The prison here employs more than 400 and has an annual payroll of $20 million. CCA also pays about $1.9 million in property taxes, about $1.3 million of which goes to Youngstown City Schools.
"We've been trying to actively engage the community because they have an opportunity to have a voice in the process," said Owen, who displayed his company's new website, www.jobsforyoungstown.com, so people can find background information on CCA and learn of its impact on the community. The site also offers templates for people to write letters of support to the Bureau of Prisons.
"This website is a resource to the community to arm people with the information that they need, provide them with the guidance that they need, on how they can voice their support, Owen said. “But it also allows us to establish lines of communication and provide updates."
The chairman of the Mahoning County Democratic Party, David Betras, opined that the Valley would throw its support behind CCA. "These people understand the importance of jobs and we fight for every job we can get and every job we can keep," said Betras, noting the Valley has often responded well when called on for support.
"If we should lose that money for our city schools, it would be so devastating," said Michele Lepore-Hagan, director of the Performing Arts Series at Youngstown State University and who announced she will seek her husband’s seat in the state Legislature.
Also speaking at the meeting was Tony Paglia, vice president of government affairs the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber. He recalled when CCA opened the prison 16 years ago, telling the group, "We certainly appreciated CCA then at a time when we desperately needed good-paying jobs and we still appreciate them now."
Paglia said job creation tends to overshadow job retention but the need for job retention is equally great, emphasizing, "That's what makes a stable economy."
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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