TSEU-TDCJParoleDivision

TDCJ-Parole Division Caucus
. . . . . . . . . TSEU Organizer contact: SETH HUTCHINSON

In Parole, we understand that our goals of a pay raise for ALL of us, better healthcare and secure pensions, and a true 60:1 caseload . . .

. . . won’t just fall from the sky!

We have to organize, mobilize, and
FIGHT for them! We can do
more if YOU are standing with us

JOIN TSEU & START GETTING INVOLVED TODAY!

While supplies last, get your TSEU-PAROLE UNITED poster and/or mousepad.
Contact your TSEU organizer or any TSEU office for details.

TDCJ releases budget request for next biennium
- Includes possibility of hundreds of layoffs in parole

. . . . On August 16th, TDCJ officials released the Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR) for their agency for fiscal years 2012 and 2013. This LAR includes the budget plans for TDCJ Corrections, Parole Division, and the Board of Pardons and Paroles. All state agencies must provide an LAR every two years to the Legislature. Based on the LAR’s, state lawmakers will decide how much funding to provide each agency. For the next biennium, Governor Perry has told all agency heads to reduce their baseline request by 5%, as compared to their agency’s budget during the current biennium. In addition, the governor called on administrators to come up with a plan to reduce their budget by an extra 10%, meaning there’s a possibility that each agency could see its budget reduced by 15%. The calls for reducing the LAR’s is much more serious this year than in the past because of the projected $18 billion budget shortfall that Texas will be facing when the Legislature meets again in January 2011.

. . . . TDCJ was recently exempted from most of a 5% budget reduction that Governor Perry called for in the current biennium. That reduction would have included a cut of over $220 million from the current agency budget and resulted in about a hundred layoffs in Parole. Instead, the agency’s budget was only reduced by $55 million. This was mostly achieved through cuts in the way the agency reimburses travel, a temporary hiring freeze, and reductions in money spent on new equipment.

. . . . Now, TDCJ’s LAR for FY2012 and 2013 (which will begin in September 2011) lays out several different possibilities for budget cuts. There are three different possibilities outlined in the budget request. The first is if the agency is funded at the same level as the last biennium, with no cuts in funding. The second is if there is only a 5% reduction in funding, and the third is the worst case scenario in which the agency’s budget is reduced by %15. Details are below:

-Flat budget (same funding level as last biennium)
1) Loss of 636 FTE’s agency wide. The agency has stated that the 3.5% raise enacted for Parole Officers and many correctional staff will still take effect on the first paycheck after September 1st 2010. How ever, if the agency does not receive additional funding for the raises for the next biennium, they would be forced to reduce staff.
2) Parole Caseloads will increase. The Legislative Budget Board predicts that the number of Parolees over the next two years will go up by 4%. If the agency would need an additional 98 new Parole
Officers in order to maintain current caseload levels.
-5% Cuts
Agency wide 2,500 RIFs. Parole Division would lose 120 positions and the Board of Pardons and Paroles would lose 28 staff.

-15% Cuts
Agency wide 7,200 RIFs. Parole Division would lose 300 positions and BPP would lose 58.

In addition to the RIFs, the budget cuts would be achieved through massive reductions in spending on offender services, vocational and academic training, halfway houses, replacing worn out equipment and vehicles, and other cuts.

TSEU members will fight!
We have a chance to stop these cuts from ever happening. The Legislature will meet in January 2011 to decide the future of the agency. Union members will be meeting with lawmakers, working on our allies’ campaigns this fall, & fighting for full funding for Parole.

_
TDCJ-Parole Division Caucus . . . . . . . . . TSEU Organizer contact: SETH HUTCHINSON
In Parole, we understand that our goals of a pay raise for ALL of us, better healthcare and secure pensions, and a true 60:1 caseload . . . . . . won’t just fall from the sky! We have to organize, mobilize, and FIGHT for them! We can do more if YOU are standing with us JOIN TSEU & START GETTING INVOLVED TODAY! While supplies last, get your TSEU-PAROLE UNITED poster and/or mousepad. Contact your TSEU organizer or any TSEU office for details.	TDCJ releases budget request for next biennium - Includes possibility of hundreds of layoffs in parole . . . . On August 16th, TDCJ officials released the Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR) for their agency for fiscal years 2012 and 2013. This LAR includes the budget plans for TDCJ Corrections, Parole Division, and the Board of Pardons and Paroles. All state agencies must provide an LAR every two years to the Legislature. Based on the LAR’s, state lawmakers will decide how much funding to provide each agency. For the next biennium, Governor Perry has told all agency heads to reduce their baseline request by 5%, as compared to their agency’s budget during the current biennium. In addition, the governor called on administrators to come up with a plan to reduce their budget by an extra 10%, meaning there’s a possibility that each agency could see its budget reduced by 15%. The calls for reducing the LAR’s is much more serious this year than in the past because of the projected $18 billion budget shortfall that Texas will be facing when the Legislature meets again in January 2011. . . . . TDCJ was recently exempted from most of a 5% budget reduction that Governor Perry called for in the current biennium. That reduction would have included a cut of over $220 million from the current agency budget and resulted in about a hundred layoffs in Parole. Instead, the agency’s budget was only reduced by $55 million. This was mostly achieved through cuts in the way the agency reimburses travel, a temporary hiring freeze, and reductions in money spent on new equipment. . . . . Now, TDCJ’s LAR for FY2012 and 2013 (which will begin in September 2011) lays out several different possibilities for budget cuts. There are three different possibilities outlined in the budget request. The first is if the agency is funded at the same level as the last biennium, with no cuts in funding. The second is if there is only a 5% reduction in funding, and the third is the worst case scenario in which the agency’s budget is reduced by %15. Details are below: -Flat budget (same funding level as last biennium) 1) Loss of 636 FTE’s agency wide. The agency has stated that the 3.5% raise enacted for Parole Officers and many correctional staff will still take effect on the first paycheck after September 1st 2010. How ever, if the agency does not receive additional funding for the raises for the next biennium, they would be forced to reduce staff. 2) Parole Caseloads will increase. The Legislative Budget Board predicts that the number of Parolees over the next two years will go up by 4%. If the agency would need an additional 98 new Parole Officers in order to maintain current caseload levels. -5% Cuts Agency wide 2,500 RIFs. Parole Division would lose 120 positions and the Board of Pardons and Paroles would lose 28 staff. -15% Cuts Agency wide 7,200 RIFs. Parole Division would lose 300 positions and BPP would lose 58. In addition to the RIFs, the budget cuts would be achieved through massive reductions in spending on offender services, vocational and academic training, halfway houses, replacing worn out equipment and vehicles, and other cuts. TSEU members will fight! We have a chance to stop these cuts from ever happening. The Legislature will meet in January 2011 to decide the future of the agency. Union members will be meeting with lawmakers, working on our allies’ campaigns this fall, & fighting for full funding for Parole.