Schwarzenegger seeks $67 million boost for private-prison operator

McFARLAND, Kern County – As far as the inmates are concerned, it's fine if California pays tens of millions of dollars more to their private-prison captors.

They like the relaxed atmosphere in the private sector, not to mention the satellite TV that on a recent Friday flashed plenty of poolside bikini action from a Spanish-language soap opera.

"You're relaxed here," said Don Chandler, 43, of West Sacramento, who was propped up on his bunk at Golden State Modified Community Correctional Facility while finishing up a stint for violating parole on an underlying domestic-violence conviction. "You're comfortable. You can enjoy yourself here."

Although California has been contracting with private correctional facilities for 22 years to cope with overcrowding, saving money in the process, costs are about to go up.

This year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's state corrections agency is proposing a five-year, $67 million increase to one company, GEO Group Inc. The proposal would bump up the daily rate the state pays per inmate by 50 percent, which the company says it needs to increase the minimum pay of its officers from $10 an hour to $14.70.

It is a deal that will require approval from the Legislature and one that figures to attract an added level of scrutiny.

State Sen. Mike Machado, chairman of the budget subcommittee that oversees prison spending, promised a "tough look" when he examines the proposed deal for the GEO Group, especially in light of the remaining $8 billion budget deficit projected through June 2009.

"Any proposal to spend money with this type of deficit raises serious questions," the Linden Democrat said.

Corrections officials say private prisons are crucial to finding more space to house inmates, while critics in the public employee unions castigate them for lower pay scales that they say attract a less-than-professional work force.

Private prisons generally house lower-risk, healthier inmates in the final 18 months of their terms. It's a class of prisoner that costs less to incarcerate than the dangerous, the sick and the long-term who require added expenses for things such as security and medical care.

On a recent visit to the Golden State facility, 25 miles north of Bakersfield, inmates lauded the prison for its easier feel, which they said contrasts sharply with the oppressive environment of state institutions marked by overcrowding, violence and control.

"Right here is love, compared to where I've been," said inmate William Cook, 27, of Newark, who previously walked the yards at San Quentin, Pleasant Valley and Lancaster. "Here you get all the football games, you get movies every day. It's real easy to do your time here. You don't have to worry about nothing – no politics right here."

GEO spokesman Pablo Paez said the satellite TV cost is "minimal" and characterized it as a "privilege" that makes inmates want to behave.

"It enhances the security and the safety of the facility," Paez said.

Two veteran GEO officers, Tim Harrison and Melissa Barrientos, said in interviews that they like their jobs and the company that employs them, even though they have topped out on the firm's pay scales at $15.70 an hour.

The hourly base for a top-scale state correctional officer is $35.

"We know we work in a private institution," said Harrison, an 11-year employee. "The state has received training in firearms and batons, and we're not allowed to possess those things because we don't have the training."

Harrison and Barrientos said they work about 20 hours of overtime a week. They said they get good health benefits and a 401(k), but no pensions.

"Some people are embarrassed to admit they work here, because of all the stuff that was said about this place" by former employees, Barrientos said. "It's not that bad. It's a good place."

Even though she likes working for GEO, Barrientos disclosed she is taking a test to become a state correctional officer. GEO officials support that, and Golden State Warden Chris Strickland sees his prison as "a great steppingstone."

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• Call Andy Furillo, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1141.