Oklahoma Corrections Professionals

A Note From Your Legislative Liaison, J’me Overstreet

I would like to begin by quoting Noah ben Shea, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Journey to Greatness and How to Get There.  Noah ben Shea reminds us that, “Things don’t have to be good for you to be great.”  I think that message is one we should all remember and continue to embrace as we continue to work together to meet the challenges of the FY 11 budget year and its operational impact.

And as many of you have experienced in the past, challenges can bring opportunities.  Opportunities for positive change.  Opportunities for career advancement.  Opportunities to let go of the past so that you can embrace the future.

So much of the time, people believe they are at their best when times are going well and their lives are not particularly full of challenges.  I ask you to consider how you respond personally to routine versus challenges and opportunities.  Many of us respond to routine with a certain degree of complacency.  On particularly slow days, we may even ask ourselves, “Is this all there is?”  How do you respond to challenge?  Many of us go first into denial or anger.  After we spend a little time there, we move into action to get to a different place.  I urge you to not spend any time, or very little in those first two stages.  We all must move into action.  The agency and the OCP membership must work hard together this summer and fall as we get ready to approach another legislative session.  We must educate the legislators in our community on the “S” word and why it is so critical: SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING!!!!!

We must continue to recruit members.  Our strength is in our numbers.  Without strong membership, it will be difficult for us to gain the influence and credibility at the capitol.   I ask you to consider this:  Do you suppose there are any state troopers who are not members of the State Troopers Association?  Do you suppose there are any state troopers who do not support the memorial for their fallen heroes?  I think you know the answers to these questions.  The answer is NO.  We should all learn a lesson from their success.  Standing strong together as one is much more powerful than remaining divided.  As long as there is a division, a wedge or opening that someone can slip through, we will not have the influence we need to truly make a difference in the livelihood of our employees and the reintegration of our offenders.  It’s the divide and conquer theory. This is not the time to drop your membership.  This is the time to grow our membership and our voice.

The FY11 Budget and Operational Impact

Justin Jones, Director, Department of Corrections, addressed the upper management group today to present and discuss the operational impact of the FY 11 budget situation.  Here are the points from his presentation:

FIRST, the information we know you want us to cover immediately:

Furloughs and RIF’s

• The agency will begin furloughing all employees according to the following schedule:
• > 8 hours per month from July, 2010 through February, 2011
• > 24 hours in March, 2011
• > 32 hours per month in April, May, June, 2011
• > If supplemental funding is received in February, the number of furlough hours for the remainder of the fiscal year will be reduced.
• > One day of furlough = $ 606,851 savings
• > The agency says that reductions in FTE are possible, but has not released a plan for RIF’s at this time.

NOW, how did we get here?  The Director offered a very straightforward explanation of the state of the DOC budget:

The agency’s FY 2011 appropriation is $462,141,777.

Part of the agency’s response to the State’s FY2010 revenue failure included cuts from areas that will not be available to meet the reductions anticipated in FY 2011.  This means that last year, the agency was able to use these sources of funds to fill holes not covered by the state appropriation, but those funds have run out and won’t be available this year.  Such as:

• > One time carry over funds,
• > One time revolving fund income, and
• > One time spending reductions
• > The unavailability of these sources for FY 2011 means the agency will have to absorb additional cuts above those the legislature already made.

These one-time source cuts total $20,840,205.

Net Population Growth

• > FY 2005  to FY 2009 = 1,121
• > FY 2010  = 647   (as of June 1, 2010)
• > Current County Jail Back Up  = 1,476, up 29 from last year (as of June 1, 2010)

FY 2011 Budget Overview

• > Reduction from FY2010                                 $ 14,083,223
• > Annualize Offender Growth                            $  5,013,835
• > FY 2010 One-time Cuts                                 $ 20,840,205
• > Total FY 2011 Reductions                                 $ 39,937,263
• > Employer costs for OPERS contributions have been ‘frozen’ at 2010 rates.
• > Benefit Allowance calculation has been changed, presumably to slow increases.

FY2011 – Appropriations Outlook and Operational Impact

• > DOC will have taken $55.8 million in cuts since FY2009.
• > The cuts will require:
•      >Furloughs;
•      >Inmate consolidation;                 
•      >Reduction of 8.5% in operating budgets; and
•      >Possible reductions in FTE.

Voluntary Buyout Information

• > The Legislature provided $22,000,000 in funding to reimburse state agencies for VOBO severance costs:
•      >$5,000 payment
•      >Insurance (18 months of employee-only health premium)
•      >Next regularly scheduled longevity payment
• > To date, the Department of Corrections has been approved to receive reimbursement for 116 employees who will retire under the VOBO plan on 7-31-2010.
• > The difference between the Legislative VOBO and the VOBO the agency conducted previously is that the positions must remain vacant for 3 years, not 1 year.

The situation isn’t ideal, not even close.  One furlough day a month is a 5% cut in your income at a time when you can least afford it.  But now we know what we’re dealing with, and we’re going to fight.  Supplemental funding is absolutely necessary to keep the agency afloat in FY’11, and OCP, with your support, will do everything in its power to get it. The more contact we have with legislators when they’re out of session, the more attention and support we’ll get from them during session.  So keep up the good work, keep contacting your legislators personally, and if you run into them at a community event in the upcoming election season, let them know you’re with OCP and you’d like their support!  Stay tuned in the coming months for information regarding our 2011 legislative agenda, including facility visits with legislators around the state. If you’re interested in getting more involved with OCP, contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .