Federal Bureau of Prisons makes the right decision

Two years ago, Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine urged the U.S. government to buy the then mothballed private prison on Hubbard Road in Youngstown because of the growing need for housing federal inmates. Officials of the Bureau of Prisons weren't enthusiastic. Congress had authorized the construction of 12 new facilities, and that's what the bureaucrats in Washington seemed to want.
But DeWine, a member of the Senate Appropriations and Judiciary committees, would not take "no" for an answer. He rallied local officials, including U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, and Youngstown Mayor George M. McKelvey, opened lines of communication with executives of Corrections Corporation of America, the Nashville-based owner of the private prison, and established a relationship with the decision-makers in the bureau of prisons.
The senator brought federal officials to Youngstown to tour the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center and facilitated talks between them and CCA. But the federal bureaucracy is like a super oil tanker on the high seas: Changing directions is a time-consuming, difficult proposition.
However, DeWine, Ryan, McKelvey and others persisted -- and the payoff was announced Thursday.
Contract
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has awarded a contract to CCA that will result in 1,195 male prisoners classified as low-security being housed in the private prison. The contract will be in effect for four years. While the inmates' stay will be relatively short -- most are designated "criminal aliens" because they entered the country illegally and committed some type of federal crime -- the population level will remain stable.
In addition, CCA, which will be paid $129 million over the four years, will have three two-year options.
But it isn't only the company that will benefit. The city of Youngstown stands to earn $400,000 a year in income tax from the 320 employees who will be hired in the first and second quarters of 2005, while the region will feel the multiplier effect from the millions of dollars in wages, benefits and food, laundry and other service contracts.
When the NOCC opened in mid-1997, it had 1,500 federal inmates, mostly from the Washington, D.C., area, 400 employees and an annual payroll of $11 million.
The prison closed in 2001 after losing its contract to house federal prisoners.
The facility reopened in March when the U.S. Marshal Service brought in 100 inmates. Since then, the number has grown to 349. There are 135 on staff.
Last year, we criticized the bureau of prisons for not taking over the NOCC and for clinging to the idea that new is better. Today, we thank the agency for its Christmas present to the city of Youngstown.