SALT LAKE CITY — More money is heading towards the Utah Department of Corrections after Thursday's legislative session. But will it be enough to resolve concerns raised by officials?
The legislative session is a day away from ending for the year – and a big decision to be made is who gets how much money. That includes the new prison.
“We are short on certified staff, our corrections officers,” explained Brian Nielson, the executive director of the Utah Department of Corrections. “The staff we have do an amazing job and they work hard, but we really need to help them out so that they’re not forced into doing so much overtime.”
About $4-5 million would go to increasing officer salaries.
“Anything helps,” said Nielson. “So what we’re seeing right now in the budget is the ability to sustain our pay plan. So those officers that we made a commitment to that are on the certified paid plan will be able to move to the next step with what we’re seeing.”
And a 5% increase for all statewide employees.
“July 1, our starting pay for a corrections officer is in that $28.5 range,” explained Nielson.
But some, like Chad Bennion with the Utah Corrections Lodge 14 of the Fraternal Order of Police, say the increase is not enough.
“The appropriation this year is akin to a band-aid on a patient who is bleeding out," said Bennion. "We are not retaining people and getting recruits as fast as we are losing them, and that’s the problem right now.”
However, the Department of Corrections disputes Bennion's statement and offered up numbers to show new officers were hired.
- February 2022 - July 2022: 87 correctional officers left the agency, 28 correctional officers were hired
- August 2022 - February 2023: 34 correctional officers left the agency, 105 correctional officers were hired.
- After the August 2022 raises, Gov. Cox personally sent a letter to all previous employees and asked them to return to work for Corrections. From August 2022 through February 2023, the department had 27 former UDC staff members return to work as officers.
FOX 13 News previously reported three correctional officers were physically assaulted between January 21 and February 4.
“I think with the safety concerns this year, the officer assaults," said Bennion. "I think officers and agents who are close to their 20 years they have no incentive to stay right now, particularly under these conditions."
Nielson said the legislature is also allocating $300,000 for mosquito abatement.
Bennion said the prisons need more money for retention, recruitment and technology to keep officers and the public safe.
“The expectation going into this session particularly with it being such a historic surplus year was much higher because for many years, we hear, hey it’s a tight year, we’re not going to be able to do much," he said. "We’ll if you’ve got a historic surplus year, and you can't really do anything, and don’t really do anything, beyond the governor’s request, when are you going to.”
