Patrick Marley

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON – Overtime at Wisconsin state prisons topped $50 million last year, underscoring the budget challenges Gov. Tony Evers and lawmakers will face with the state's correctional system.

The $50.6 million spent on overtime last year at adult prisons is 17 percent higher than the $43.1 million spent in 2016, according to a Department of Corrections report to the Legislature's budget committee.

Overtime at prisons has long plagued Wisconsin budgets, in large part because of chronic understaffing.

Prison officials contend the problem has been particularly challenging because of a low unemployment rate that makes it hard to hire and keep workers.

Officers argue they should be paid more and say the problems predate the growing economy and are rooted in low morale. Many of them blame Act 10, the 2011 law that all but ended collective bargaining for most public workers.

RELATED:Overtime in Wisconsin prisons tops $42 million as state wrestles with worker shortage

The new overtime report shows the most overtime was racked up at Dodge Correctional Institution ($6.2 million), Waupun Correctional Institution ($4.8 million) and Oshkosh Correctional Institution ($4.2 million).

The Department of Corrections is required to report overtime numbers to the Legislature every two years. The Wisconsin State Journal first reported on the latest figures.

To combat the problem, the Department of Corrections has raised pay in recent years and is handing out $2,000 bonuses to those who take jobs at some of the most under-staffed prisons.

Starting wages for officers will increase from $16 an hour to $16.65 an hour this month — a 9.5 percent increase since 2016.

More will be needed, said Rep. Michael Schraa, an Oshkosh Republican and chairman of the Assembly Corrections Committee. He said he would like to see starting wages rise to about $19 an hour so the state can retain more officers.

"We're going to have to belly up and put some more money into this," he said. "We have to do better at recruitment and retention."

Hundreds of unfilled positions

As of last week, state prisons were short 683 officers and sergeants, according to the Department of Corrections. That means nearly 15 percent of such jobs were unfilled.

At one point last year, as many as 20 percent of the jobs at some prisons were unfilled. In such situations, workers are forced to put in more overtime, often with little notice. That leads to burnout and more officers quitting, perpetuating the staffing problems, officers say.

RELATED: Wisconsin's Lincoln Hills juvenile prison plagued with staff shortage

DATABASE: Search the database showing all state workers' pay for 2017

Department of Corrections officials have noted that prisons around the country are having trouble filling jobs but said they are committed to recruiting new employees.

"With Wisconsin's unemployment rate at less than 3 percent (as of June 2018), the department is actively recruiting individuals who wish to work in a field that promotes public safety and assists offenders in successfully reentering their communities," Department of Corrections spokeswoman Clare Hendricks said by email.

Evers to tour Lincoln Hills

The details on overtime last year come as Evers prepares for a tour Friday of Lincoln Hills School for Boys, the trouble-plagued juvenile prison north of Wausau.

The Democratic governor said when he campaigned he would visit the facility during his first week on the job to get a handle on the problems there.

The prison has been under a criminal investigation into child neglect and prisoner abuse for four years and is the subject of multiple lawsuits. It is slated to close by 2021.

Lawmakers from both parties have said they want to find ways to retain more officers and bring down the prison population, but they have differed on how to do that.

Evers and Republicans who control the Legislature will spend the coming months developing a budget for the Department of Corrections and other state agencies. The department spends more than $1.2 billion a year.