By Noah Zahn
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Following a meeting between the Joint Appropriations Committee and the Wyoming Department of Corrections on Thursday, Gov. Mark Gordon issued a statement calling for immediate funding for the department to address staffing shortages.
DOC Director Dan Shannon presented details of the department’s 2027-28 biennium budget request and staffing concerns, which have forced the state to house inmates outside Wyoming, leading to millions in emergency expenses. Shannon said the vacancies are the “number one contributor” to reassigning inmates and affecting the entire DOC budget.
In Gordon’s proposed budget, the governor noted that DOC is feeling the pressures of inflation and needs immediate attention. He specifically stated that chronic staffing shortages prevent the return of all inmates from out-of-state facilities. The governor wrote that the agency requires $9.3 million “to be effective immediately” to cover these financial obligations.
“The Department of Corrections plays a primary role in the State’s administration of criminal justice,” Gordon wrote in a statement. He noted the agency “is a model of efficiency and effectiveness at housing and rehabilitating the incarcerated and supervision of probationers and parolees.”
Shannon informed lawmakers that the agency still faces 136 total vacant positions, with 80 being uniformed correctional staff. While recruitment efforts have led to some improvement, raising the staffing level at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins from 65% to 75% as of November, the lingering deficit has consequences.
The department initially relocated 240 inmates to county jails and a facility in Mississippi, and while 112 have been returned, 128 inmates remain housed in Mississippi.
“Having these inmates return is not only my top priority, it controls our entire operational budget and overall budget,” Shannon said.
To safely reopen B Unit at the State Penitentiary, which can house 168 individuals, and bring these inmates back to Wyoming, DOC requires a net gain of 25 additional officers.
Shannon also reported that the cost for housing inmates out of state totaled $15 million last year. Rep. Abby Angelos, R- Gillette, asked about the daily rates, and Shannon confirmed that the out-of-state housing rate is $75 per day plus full medical costs.
He explained that since the state is utilizing a private firm, it becomes a third-party provider and is not eligible to negotiate a medical contract, resulting in the state paying full medical costs. This has led to high expenditures, with bills sometimes in excess of $250,000 to $300,000 in a single month for complex issues like heart attacks or cancer treatments, and an average cost around $220,000 per month for medical services alone for the outsourced inmates.
To improve staffing levels, DOC previously sought and received unfunded approval to raise the correctional officer wage from $19 to $25 per hour, an effort Shannon aimed at competing with local county jails in towns like Rawlins, Lusk and Riverton that offer similar benefits and often pay more.
He asked the JAC to cancel the agency’s separate $4 million request for salary adjustments, given the governor’s broader pay scale recommendations, but insisted on keeping the request for $400,000 for overtime adjustment funding necessary to cover the new wage rate.
Beyond basic operational costs, Shannon detailed new safety protocols that exacerbate the need for staff. Following incidents in Idaho and Texas where correctional officers were shot during inmate escapes involving external threats, Wyoming DOC enacted a mandatory policy requiring three officers for unscheduled medical transports.
Despite the fiscal pressures, the committee acknowledged the department’s positive results. Sen. Mike Gierau, D- Jackson, lauded DOC’s rehabilitation success, noting that 91% of released inmates do not return to a facility within three years with a new felony conviction.
Joint Appropriations Committee
Sen. Mike Gierau, D- Jackson, speaks during the Joint Appropriations Committee meeting Thursday at the state Capitol. The Department of Corrections presented its budget request to the committee.
Gierau called the results a “success story.” Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R- Wheatland, thanked Shannon for his integrity, acknowledging the reality that while they “would love it if you had a deficit of offenders ... we’re not in that world right now.”
Rep. Ken Pendergraft, R- Sheridan, acknowledged that DOC services are essential, but commented on the balance between being a steward of taxpayer dollars and funding government services, noting that Wyoming residents feel inflationary impacts just as much as DOC.
“There’s that natural tension and stasis between what does it cost to operate government, and what can we afford as taxpayers, or what are we willing to afford as taxpayers? And we’ve seen over the last couple of years a bit of a tax rebellion,” he said.
The $9.3 million in emergency funds remained in the budget request, and lawmakers did not make any amendments or proposals to the budget Thursday, but could in the coming weeks as the JAC continues to meet with various state departments.
If approved as currently written, the emergency funds would be released when the budget is signed, even though the budget is written for the 2027-28 biennium.
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