PHARSALIA – Dicussions of Gov. Spitzer’s proposed budget and now the approval of civil confinement legislation have many people wondering what the future holds for Camp Pharsalia.
In a meeting with union regional vice president of the state Corrections Officers and Police Benevolent Association Tom Haas Wednesday, issues regarding Camp Pharsalia and Spitzer’s proposed budget were discussed.
“Camp Pharsalia is in the budget and has always been in the budget. The one year former Governor Pataki tried to remove it, the legislature put it back in,” Haas said.
Haas expressed the viewpoint representing all officers and sergeants at the minimum security facility, regarding the creation of a closure committee Spitzer wants included in the next fiscal year budget to look at which prisons across the state should remain operational and which should be shut down.
“We are trying to fight this,” said Haas.
“If the closure committee is created and the jails in small communities such as Georgetown and Pharsalia close, it will be devastating,” said Haas. He says Pharsalia is on a level playing field with the other 70-plus facilities throughout the state.
Closing Pharsalia would be detrimental for communities as a whole, Haas said, due to the fact that the camp serves as a work camp and the benefits the community gain from their services is great. Whether it be waxing floors or painting churches, Haas said the inmates can do the job for free as long as materials are provided. The communities save a lot of money and the prison itself spends money throughout these local communities and helps aid local economies. Haas says the services offered by the facility, he hopes, will be utilized more, but they maintain a decent workload already.
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