For Immediate Release: February 23, 2010
Governor will pay for out-of-state prisoners but stiffs local sheriffs
Oakland County – Mike Bouchard, Republican candidate for governor and sheriff of Oakland County, urged the governor who is accepting out-of-state prisoners to honor her commitment to sheriffs for housing felons in county jails.
In a new revenue generating scheme, with Gov. Granholm’s approval, the first wave of Pennsylvania prisoners was quietly received in Michigan without notice to local residents. To make way for the prisoners, the Michigan Department of Corrections is emptying beds as quickly as possible and shipping its felons to county jails across the state. This wrong-headed approach not only puts dollars before public safety but increases the strain on local budgets as well.
“Gov. Granholm has our state accepting money from Pennsylvania to house its prisoners,” Bouchard said. “But this is the same governor who refuses to honor her commitment to local sheriff’s departments that are housing the inmate overflow from the Michigan Department of Corrections. It seems the governor has no problem stiffing local government. Interestingly, she is gladly accepting money for the same services that she refuses to pay for.”
Bouchard pointed out that the governor’s approach is flawed on several counts.
“First, Michigan should not become the destination for our nation’s criminals,” Bouchard said. “That will not address our state’s long-term problems. Second, Michigan should not be releasing career criminals from its prisons back into our communities. Finally, Lansing must follow the lead of cities and counties and find creative ways to balance its budget — it should not be shifting its burden to local units of government.”
Bouchard called on the governor to make good on state contracts.
“Governor, we implore you to pay your bills. Counties have held up their end of the bargain and reduced state costs by housing state prisoners,” Bouchard said. “In return, you vetoed $16 million from this year’s budget for sheriff agencies in 83 counties. You are now reneging on the terms of the state contract for properly reimbursing the counties for their services. Please live up to your end of the deal. Your action is causing budget shortfalls in local counties. To be clear, you are not just shorting local units of government, you are placing public safety in jeopardy.”
Bouchard encouraged the state to follow Oakland County’s lead as an excellent example of sound fiscal management. Competitively bidding food service in the county jail saves taxpayers more than $1.6 million a year. Doing that at the state level would save an estimated $40 million annually.
In addition, Oakland County uses a two-year budgeting process based on a three-year outlook, which allows officials to make adjustments if necessary.
“Reducing costs will help us keep our criminals behind bars where they belong,” Bouchard said. “The governor’s actions are just one more example of the lack of leadership in Lansing. Our state needs a leader who will make the tough decisions from Day One so that communities are not forced into desperate situations. As governor, I’ll bring courage, decisiveness and vision to Lansing. That’s the only way we’ll fix Lansing and get Michigan back to work.”
Visit BouchardforGovernor.com for more information on Bouchard’s initiatives to get Michigan back on track.
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Paid for by Mike Bouchard for Governor
P.O. Box 1433
Royal Oak, MI 48068
