The state Department of Correctional Services plans to close 22 dormitories at 17 prisons, including one at Adirondack Correctional Facility in Ray Brook, two in Malone and one in Altona.

This will mean 149 currently vacant correctional officer positions won't have to be filled for the time being, but nobody currently working will lose his or her job or be transferred to another facility, although some guards' overtime pay could decline with fewer dormitories to watch.

Locally, the department will close one 41-bed unit at Adirondack Correctional Facility, leaving five staff positions unfilled. The department will also close one 60-bed unit at Bare Hill in Malone, leaving five positions unfilled, and two units of 60 beds each at Franklin, also in Malone, leaving 10 staff positions unfilled. In Clinton County, one 60-bed unit at Altona will be closed, leaving five positions unfilled.

The dormitories being closed are underpopulated, according to a press release from DOCS.

"We don't need to have as many of the dorms supervised as there are right now," said DOCS spokesman Erik Kriss.

Leaving the 149 positions unfilled will save the state $8.4 million if the changes stay in place for a year, Kriss said. The savings could actually be higher, Kriss said, as this doesn't count the guards' benefits or the possible overtime savings. The consolidation only affects the number of corrections officer positions, Kriss said, not higher officers or civilian employees.

Adirondack averages 30 to 40 hours of overtime a week, Kriss said, and the consolidation could cut this by about 35 percent. Kriss said an average CO's salary is $56,500 a year. Using this figure, the facility spends approximately from $1,270 to $1,700 weekly on overtime and this would fall to between $830 and $1,100 weekly.

Kriss said that the inmates in the affected units would be transferred to other housing units within the same facilities and not to other prisons.

The department is characterizing the closures as temporary, Kriss said, "because the new budget for the fiscal year that begins April 1 is still under negotiation with the Legislature."

Gov. David Paterson's 2010-11 budget calls for dormitory consolidations, too, but "that's not a final deal," Kriss said.

The proposal also calls for the closure of four prisons, including three in the North Country: Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility, Lyon Mountain Correctional Facility and Ogdensburg Correctional Facility. The state Division of the Budget has estimated that the closures plus the dormitory consolidation could save $7 million in 2010-11 and $52 million in 2011-12.

DOCS has said that declining inmate populations mean the department doesn't need as many prisons or employees anymore. The state closed six prison annexes and three correctional camps last year, including Camp Gabriels.

The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association has said many facilities are still overcrowded, with double-bunking common at some.

Essex County officials have been lobbying hard to keep Moriah Shock open, including preparing a lengthy report detailing the economic impact the closure could have. Four county supervisors visited Washington, D.C. last week to talk to area federal representatives about a number of projects and concerns, including Moriah Shock.

"I honestly believe we've made some very serious headway," Essex County Board of Supervisors Chairman Randy Douglas of Jay, one of the four on the trip, said after county committee meetings Monday. "I'm proud of our efforts as a team. We've been nonstop, and they have taken notice."

Douglas said they have gotten positive feedback from many state and federal legislators on their report, and DOCS Commissioner Brian Fischer will be visiting Moriah on Thursday.

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Contact Nathan Brown at 891-2600 ext. 26 or nbrown@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.