Eloy welcomes expansion of private prison

ELOY — Residents in this small community between Phoenix and Tucson said Tuesday night they welcomed with open arms an expansion of a private prison, saying it will bring much-needed jobs and tax revenues.

But out-of-town opponents testifying at an Arizona Department of Corrections public hearing at Santa Cruz Valley High School questioned whether the state of Arizona can afford or needs more prison beds.

The roughly one-hour hearing was another step in the process of the state awarding a lucrative, multimillion-dollar contract to Corrections Corporation of America to house up to 2,000 medium-security inmates. The Tennessee-based company was the only bidder, and CCA officials said the company could house up to 1,000 of those prisoners at its Red Rock facility in Eloy that already houses state inmates.

The Legislature has provided funding for the first 1,000 additional inmates. Lawmakers would need to allocate additional funds in future budgets for the full expansion to 2,000. Corrections officials have said the state needs more medium-security prison beds to deal with overcrowding.

Eloy Mayor Joel G. Belloc said the community supports the expansion, adding that CCA has been a good corporate partner. He noted that the company would need to expand its Red Rock facility to house all of the additional inmates, and it would need to hire more guards.

"There will be construction taxes, and we are talking about 125 more (correctional officer) jobs. All of that is more revenue that we can use to help the community," Belloc said. "This is their opportunity to expand. We don't want more prisons or more people to commit crimes, but the fact is crimes are being committed."

Arizona Corrections Director Charles Ryan said his office would continue to review CCA's proposal, and no formal decision to award a contract could occur until Dec. 10. He said the company has said how much it wants to be paid to house state inmates, but he declined to disclose the figure.

State budget records show Arizona currently pays $65.43 a day per inmate to CCA for up to 1,000 inmates already housed at Red Rock.

During the hearing, it was disclosed that the state would guarantee a 90 percent occupancy rate for CCA for the 1,000 additional prisoners. If the state pays the same daily rate, that would result in a guaranteed payment of roughly $21.5 million a year.

The Arizona Republic has found that private prisons in Arizona with a guaranteed occupancy rate of at least 90 percent are guaranteed an operating profit.

Budget records show entry-level pay for correctional officers at Red Rock is $34,320, which is slightly more than the entry-level wage for a DOC prison guard, who earns $32,916.

CCA officials said the Red Rock prison would have no problem filling positions, and it has hundreds of applicants for its six private prisons in Arizona that house inmates from across the country.

The hearing attracted about 80 people, with many carrying placards that said they supported CCA. Testimony was evenly split between those speaking for and against the private-prison expansion.

No one from Eloy or the surrounding community spoke against the expansion. Opponents came from the Phoenix metro area and Tucson.

One of the opponents was Art Mobley of the National Black Media Coalition. He said the state had abdicated its role by turning over more prison beds to private companies.

"This is a sham the people of Eloy are being tricked with," Mobley said.

His comment prompted JoAnne Galindo, a 50-year resident, to speak in favor of CCA.

"CCA has been a good business supporter and has been very good to my community," she said.

The state has nearly 43,000 inmates, with about one-sixth held in private prisons around Arizona.