By C1 Staff
WAUPUN, Wis. — Third-shift guard tower jobs at the Waupun Correctional Institute will be spared from this year’s budget cuts, at least for another 18 months.
State Sen. Rick Gudex said the facility needed to be “treated a little differently” because it is a maximum-security facility right in the middle of town, according to the FDL Reporter.
Gudex said the Joint Committee on Finance passed a motion to retain the prison’s six guard tower positions.
The state’s budget proposal cuts 60 third-shift tower positions at 10 of Wisconsin’s maximum-security prisons. Anyone filling those positions would be moved to other vacancies, and the cuts are believed to save $5.9 million over the next two years.
Corrections officials defend reducing staffing in the towers, saying there have been only two inmate escape attempts during third shift over the last 20 years.
Neighbors of the Waupun prison and correctional officers have been vocal in their opposition since the plan was introduced to the Legislature.