Latest review calls for closing Ahtanum View Corrections Center

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A consulting group hired to find ways to slash costs in the state's prison system released its final report last week.

Much of the report is identical to a draft recommendation released last month - which proposes closing Ahtanum View Corrections Center in Yakima. The prison, which houses elderly and infirm inmates, is the state's smallest prison.

The report also recommends closing a portion of Larch Corrections Center, near Vancouver, Wash., as well as downsizing the McNeil Island Correctional Complex and possibly closing a portion of the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.

State Department of Corrections Secretary Eldon Vail said last week he hadn't fully reviewed the report and needs time to analyze it.

The report by consulting firm Christopher Murray & Associates will be taken under advisement by the state Office of Financial Management as it develops the governor's 2010 supplemental budget. The report is also being shared with Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Legislature.

In a news release Vail said, "like all other state agencies, will continue to look for ways to reduce spending. We will work with the governor to find options for inclusion in her budget that will not compromise public safety."

Faced with a projected budget shortfall, the state Legislature had directed the state's Office of Financial Management to hire a consultant to create a plan to cut 1,580 beds at the state's prisons, 235 beds at juvenile-rehabilitation facilities and 250 beds in Developmental Disabilities Division facilities.