Nevada State Prison closure in the works, again

The plan to shut down the historic Nevada State Prison has come back to life.

Director of Corrections Howard Skolnik and Gov. Jim Gibbons have proposed closing the prison on East Fifth Street in the past, but employees and city officials worried about the economic impact convinced lawmakers to block it.

Gibbons on Thursday issued a statement ordering the phase-out of NSP, saying it costs taxpayers up to $6,000 per inmate more each year than the new state prisons.

"Additionally, NSP is not as safe for prison staff as other facilities," he said.

Skolnik said his institutions are already understaffed and the problem will get worse when furloughs start July 1. He said closing NSP makes more officers available to cover potentially dangerous shortages at Northern Nevada Correctional Center, Warm Springs and other institutions.

"By taking the staff from NSP and relocating them to other facilities, we feel we can adequately staff the other prisons and keep everything operational," he said.

Skolnik said the shut-down will be in phases as the approximately 150 employees start taking the day-a-month furloughs imposed on state workers.

"Ultimately, we plan to phase out NSP without layoffs," Skolnik said.

Skolnik has repeatedly expressed concern that furloughs would aggravate staff shortages, increasing the danger to officers who are in constant contact with inmates.

He said he has the bed space in other institutions for NSP's 650 inmates.

Ron Bratsch, president of the northern branch of the correctional officers union, said they planned to fight the move, beginning with the Board of Prison Commissioners.

"We're just informing to see if IFC (the Interim Finance Committee), the attorney general or the secretary of state are going to react to the executive order of the governor," he said. Those two and the governor make up the prison board.

"The Legislature voted in special session and the session not to have it closed," Bratsch said.

He said he believes that board and lawmakers have the final say over whether a prison is shut down, not the prison director.

Skolnik, however, said there is precedent for his power to make the decision. He said his predecessors Bob Bayer and Ron Angelone ordered Southern Nevada Correctional Center near Las Vegas closed on different occasions and he closed Silver Springs Conservation Camp last year - without any challenges to his authority.

"I did check with counsel on whether I had authority to move staff and inmates - which is what I'm doing," he said. "Clearly the precedent is there."

Skolnik said the alternative to beefing up staff in other institutions with the positions at NSP is to move staff from other functions.

"We could operate our institutions but it would be with severe cutbacks in programs and visitation," he said - both of which would increase tensions within the prisons.

He said NSP won't close overnight or even in the next month or so. First, NNCC, Warm Springs and Lovelock will get some of the NSP positions.

"As positions come truly vacant, we'll probably move them to Southern Nevada Correctional or High Desert," he said.

He said recent retirements already have freed up some positions.

Skolnik said the goal is to shutter NSP over time without layoffs and without any forced relocations of employees.

Even though the closure will ultimately save millions, he said the issue isn't the budget but security.

"We can't run these facilities in a safe fashion with furloughs coming on."

He presented the plan to sergeants and senior staff at NSP Thursday morning, saying the reaction was generally understanding.

When Skolnik first proposed shutting down NSP more than two years ago, he said it would save up to $19 million a year. The old prison - some units more than 100 years old - requires significantly more staff per inmate to operate than the new prisons in the state, according to Skolnik.

Carson Mayor Bob Crowell said he is concerned about the loss of any good-paying jobs in the capital, which has double-digit unemployment like the rest of the state.

"In today's world, we're watching employment and unemployment very carefully," he said. "It's not helpful for our employment picture in Carson City."