AUGUSTA – County jails and state correctional facilities are short of guards, forcing consideration of a step thought politically impossible just a few years ago – consolidation of some county jails into regional facilities.

“We have got a serious problem right across the state,” said Kennebec County Sheriff Bryan Lamoreau. “All of the sheriffs are concerned, and we think the problem is going to get worse.”

County jails have scores of vacancies, with Cumberland and York counties in the worst shape. York County Sheriff Philip Cote said his department is a “revolving door” even with nearly constant recruitment efforts. He said he always has 10 to 12 vacant positions, and that means guards are working overtime to make sure there are at least the minimum number of guards at the jail.

“The current jail is rated for 58 beds,” he said last Friday. “The census I have today of all inmates we are responsible for is 196.”

He said most are in other county jails. The county is building a new jail that will house 250 inmates. Meanwhile, a modular jail unit that will hold 30 inmates is expected to arrive this week, but it will not be ready for use until late September.

Captain Cheryl Gallant, administrator for the Penobscot County Jail, said there are currently 7 vacancies out of a staff of 45 corrections officers at the Bangor facility. She said the shortage of guards has resulted in overtime and additional training costs.

“Training is very expensive,” she said. “Our officers have four weeks of training before they go on duty.”

Gallant said there is no single major reason why guards have resigned. She said some took better paying correctional jobs with the state, others went into law enforcement. Some, she said, simply took better paying jobs in the private sector.

Sheriffs agree low starting pay has made it very difficult to recruit guards. York County has a starting salary of $10.63. Kennebec has a starting salary of just $8 an hour, with no benefits for the first six months on the job.

“You tell me how I am supposed to recruit correctional officers for that,” Lamoreau said.

And it’s not just the counties competing for guards. Earlier this year the Legislature approved higher pay scales for state correctional officers, but it only brought brief relief to the agency. There are currently 23 vacancies at Maine State Prison and 12 at the Maine Youth Center.

“It seemed to be working there for a while,” said Denise Lord, associate corrections commissioner. “But, we have vacancies now and we are facing the same problems as other areas of the country in recruiting.”

AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees represents corrections officers at state facilities. Ed Willey, AFSCME coordinator for Maine, said even with the improved starting salary for officers, $10.86 an hour is not all that competitive given the working conditions.

“Why put up with all of that when you can make as much down the street at Wal-Mart,” he said.

Much the same argument holds true across the country. Figures from the Criminal Justice Institute indicate serious shortages of corrections officers throughout the nation even as the demand, fueled by new prison construction, continues to grow. The number of corrections officers nationwide rose from 153,000 in 1992 to more than 212,000 in 2000.

But, while the numbers grew, pay has continued to be low. The national average starting salary is $23,002 a year. That’s just over $11 an hour. The Institute points out that is not much pay for a job with terrible working conditions. Inmates often verbally assault guards and often that escalates into thrown objects or actual assaults.

“Of course it’s money,” said Rep. Edward Povich, D-Ellsworth, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee. “That’s the problem. But, it’s more than that. I sure as hell wouldn’t do what those officers have to do; even if the pay were a lot more.”

Povich said there is little public support for any expenditures in the area of corrections. He said guards deserve better pay and benefits, but taxpayers do not want any higher taxes to pay for jails.

“People want tougher penalties,” he said. “We had the Maine Merchants Association push through the law change reducing a felony to a thousand dollars. Well, that’s going to mean more people in jail for longer periods and that means it’s going to cost.”

Sen. Michael McAlevy, R-Waterboro, co-chair of the panel, agrees. He said there needs to be additional state funds for corrections, and counties are going to have to pay more as well.

“I think we have to look at having those who are causing the problem pay for more of the costs,” he said.

McAlevy said he would ask the committee to consider a proposal to place a surcharge on fines that are levied on criminals to raise more money for jails. He said that is better than simply asking taxpayers to pay more in property taxes for corrections. The state does provide some help to pay for jails, but the program has never been fully funded.

Sheriffs already closely cooperate in shifting inmates from one facility to another. But, in cooperation with other county officials, they are exploring the possibility of even closer cooperation and coordination in the future.

“We need to look at all the possibilities,” said Robert Howe, executive director of the County Commissioners Association. “Jails are overcrowded and there is a problem that needs to be fixed. I think we need to look at ways that solve the problem, but in as cost effective way as possible.”

Howe has a draft report that calls for regional facilities in those areas of the state where they make sense. He said schools have consolidated to be more efficient and the counties should consider using the same principle in housing criminals.

“It’s the same reasoning that led to the state consolidating feasibilities,” said Ralph Nichols, director of Correctional Standards at DOC, the office that inspects county jails every two years. “It costs a lot of money to run a jail. It must be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week and it’s getting very expensive to operate.”

Howe’s study indicates there could be considerable savings by counties cooperating. For example, Lincoln County has a staff of 23 to guard an average daily inmate population of 25. In Oxford County a staff of 16 watched an average daily inmate population of 32 last year.

“I think if three or four counties cooperated, there could be significant savings,” he said.

Discussions are under way among a number of counties. Oxford, Androscoggin and Franklin are talking about a regional facility. And Sagadahoc, the only county without its own jail, is talking with Lincoln and Knox counties about a possible regional facility.

But Sheriff Lamoreau said that while he is hopeful the talks will be productive, his experience has been county commissioners have had enough problems just agreeing on matters within the county.

“Can you imagine the battles if you have three or four sets of county commissioners all trying to decide something?” he asked.

Howe said any regional concept would be difficult to implement. But he said the approach needs to be considered.

“We owe at least that much to the taxpayers,” he said.