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LEBANON — Watchtowers at state prisons in Lebanon and Lucasville are targeted for shift changes or closing as part of the state budget cuts.
A recent plan proposed by Gov. John Kasich would change the number of shifts at one watchtower at the Lebanon Correctional Institution on Ohio 63 and close six watchtowers at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.
Kasich said the state could save more than $2.1 million by closing the watchtowers.
JoEllen Smith, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, said manned perimeter towers are an obsolete means of maintaining a secure perimeter.
“All of our close and high security prisons have state of the art security systems and protocols,” she said. “Both Lucasville and Lebanon facilities have redundant fence alarm systems, in addition to an armed, roving vehicle that patrols the perimeters of the prisons.”
Two of five watchtowers remain in operation at LCI, Smith said.
One of the LCI watchtowers will remain in 24-hour use, while the other will be closed during the third-shift, according to the proposal.
Carlo LoParo, DRC spokesman, said the third-shift closing of that tower would equate in the reduction in four correctional officers at LCI.
LoParo said no correctional officers would lose their jobs but would be moved to vacant positions inside the prison.
The savings at LCI would be about $264,720 a year which come from less overtime being spent and four less positions, he said.
Smith said the proposed plan has been agreed to by both management and the union at LCI.
Kasich has made some other proposals on where cuts could be made in the DRC budget to close the estimated $8 billion shortfall facing the state. Among the proposals are selling five prisons that would generate about $200 million, charging inmates for electricity, and an overhaul of the state’s sentencing laws.
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4504 or erichter@coxohio.com.
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