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<BD+>More money? No thanks, says Corrections chief<BD->
With a gleam in his eye, Corrections Director Mike Chabries appeared before legislators Monday and broke the mold of his predecessors: He welcomed budget cuts.
"I am excited today," Chabries told a Joint Appropriations subcommittee on Criminal Justice. "I'm not here asking for new beds . . . I am here to report that I have three years worth of [prison] beds that are not being used . . . but they're there when you need to use them."
Chabries' chipper briefing marked quite a contrast from last year, when he said he resorted to "whining" to win funding.
Although Corrections has often had the reputation for being grossly underfunded by legislators, Chabries can more easily swallow another lean budget because Utah's prison population has shrunk from nearly 5,900 in March to about 5,350 today. A big part of that reduction could be traced to early releases for some prisoners, as Chabries and his staff looked for ways to trim more than $10 million from...
