By Chris Cowperthwaite
NBC17

One of the departments hardest hit by Gov. Perdue’s budget cuts will be the state prison system.

Department of Correction officials say the budget will cost them 500 jobs over the next two years and force them to close seven prisons.

The closings will certainly have an effect on some small towns like Butner.

The word “prison” usually conjures images of stark walls and rows of razor wire, but Butner’s minimum security prison isn’t quite as foreboding.

In fact, the idea of losing the Umstead Correctional Center doesn’t sit well with a lot of people in town.

“We’re accustomed to the facility,” said Mayor Tom Lane. “It’s been a part of the community and we have real concerns.”

Umstead houses more than 100 inmates, and employs 45 people.

Next year, though, the governor plans to shut it down, along with six other facilities around North Carolina.

“It means a loss of some jobs. People that we know as Butner citizens,” said Lane. “People that we want to be a part of their life and they’re part of ours.”

“We will be able to replace, we hope, most of those folks in vacancies at other prisons,” said Keith Acree, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections. “We can’t guarantee that we can do that for everyone, but we’re certainly going to make that effort.”

The goal is to reduce the department’s budget by about $68 million, and consolidating everything will mean that inmates in Butner and other places will have to be transferred elsewhere.

“We have to double-cell inmates in certain locations,” said Acree. “So there’s quite a bit of work we have to do in terms of population management to make this all work.”

Acree says 500 jobs sounds like a lot, but he also points out that the prison system employs more than 20,000 people statewide.

The budget wasn’t all bad news for the Department of Correction.

In addition to the cuts, there are also some budget increases.

Those include $12 million for the probation system, which will help hire 117 new officers, 29 new supervisors and increase pay for current officers.

Rep. Brad Miller (NC-13) will deliver remarks at the dedication ceremony for the new Camp Butner Barracks Facility which is part of troop training improvements for the North Carolina National Guard (NCNG).

The Congressman secured nearly $1.4 million in funding for the NCNG training site at Camp Butner in the FY09 Military Construction Appropriations Bill. Camp Butner already had a housing shortage and training at the site has quadrupled over the last five years, increasing the need. The new construction will minimize costs for the NCNG by providing economical and convenient housing for troops.

In addition to the barracks facility, a multi-phase construction project at the training site includes a dining facility, maintenance areas and logistical facilities. The improvements will also support the use of Camp Butner as an alternate Command Post in the event of a disaster or terrorist attack.  The Department of the Army has mandated that each State’s Joint Forces Headquarters develop such contingencies.

Who: Rep. Brad Miller

What: Dedication Ceremony for Camp Butner Barracks Facility

When: Monday, March 16, 10 A.M.

Where: Camp Butner, 539 Roberts Chapel Rd., Butner, NC