Jade01
05-02-2005, 08:45 PM
BY CHARLIE FRAGO ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
BRICKEYS — The state Board of Corrections gave the green light Friday to refinance existing bonds to pay for more than 500 new beds, some of them pegged to handle an influx of female inmates.
The prison system on Friday held 13,469 inmates, an increase of 224 inmates, or 2 percent, from the same period last year, according to Department of Correction statistics.
According to numbers released earlier this week by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of inmates nationwide grew by 2.3 percent in the past year. There are 2.1 million people in prisons and jails nationwide, or one in every 138 U.S residents.
Department of Correction Director Larry Norris said the inmate backlog for available bed space in the prison system is 409, much lower than in recent years when the numbers of state inmates held in county jails often surpassed 1,000.
But for the first time, more women — 212 — are awaiting beds than men, Norris said. A shortage of beds for women has worsened the backlog.
Although the backlog has lessened, prison officials say they need 305 new beds, mostly at the Ouachita River Unit in Malvern, for special needs prisoners — usually the elderly or the sick.
On Friday, the board met at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys and unanimously approved a $34.7 million bond refinancing package that would save more than $100,000 a year with lower interest rates.
The prison system’s bonds, issued in 1999 for 20 years, pay an interest rate of 5.56 percent. Under the refinancing plan, rates as low as 4 percent probably can be obtained, said Bobbie Nichols of Stephens Inc., which is underwriting the bond sale. "The refinancing is pretty much what you would do if you bought a house. We wanted to find options to do that with the Malvern Unit," Nichols told the board.
The falling stock market has sparked a bond market rally, making now an ideal time to refinance, Nichols said.
The bonds would have fixed interest rates and have a life of 15 years before investors collect the value of the principal.
Construction of the new beds should start soon after the new fiscal year starts July 1.
About 200 new beds for female inmates at the Wrightsville unit are scheduled to open in August, which prison officials hope will help the system cope with an increase in female prisoners in recent years.
BRICKEYS — The state Board of Corrections gave the green light Friday to refinance existing bonds to pay for more than 500 new beds, some of them pegged to handle an influx of female inmates.
The prison system on Friday held 13,469 inmates, an increase of 224 inmates, or 2 percent, from the same period last year, according to Department of Correction statistics.
According to numbers released earlier this week by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of inmates nationwide grew by 2.3 percent in the past year. There are 2.1 million people in prisons and jails nationwide, or one in every 138 U.S residents.
Department of Correction Director Larry Norris said the inmate backlog for available bed space in the prison system is 409, much lower than in recent years when the numbers of state inmates held in county jails often surpassed 1,000.
But for the first time, more women — 212 — are awaiting beds than men, Norris said. A shortage of beds for women has worsened the backlog.
Although the backlog has lessened, prison officials say they need 305 new beds, mostly at the Ouachita River Unit in Malvern, for special needs prisoners — usually the elderly or the sick.
On Friday, the board met at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys and unanimously approved a $34.7 million bond refinancing package that would save more than $100,000 a year with lower interest rates.
The prison system’s bonds, issued in 1999 for 20 years, pay an interest rate of 5.56 percent. Under the refinancing plan, rates as low as 4 percent probably can be obtained, said Bobbie Nichols of Stephens Inc., which is underwriting the bond sale. "The refinancing is pretty much what you would do if you bought a house. We wanted to find options to do that with the Malvern Unit," Nichols told the board.
The falling stock market has sparked a bond market rally, making now an ideal time to refinance, Nichols said.
The bonds would have fixed interest rates and have a life of 15 years before investors collect the value of the principal.
Construction of the new beds should start soon after the new fiscal year starts July 1.
About 200 new beds for female inmates at the Wrightsville unit are scheduled to open in August, which prison officials hope will help the system cope with an increase in female prisoners in recent years.