Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s proposed two-year state budget includes $51 million for the Indiana Department of Correction, funding that would have a direct impact on one Wabash Valley correctional facility.
Pence’s budget includes money for building additional cell houses at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Carlisle and new cell houses at the Miami Correctional Facility, located about 11 miles north of Kokomo.
The majority of that proposed budget funding is targeted at Carlisle.
“The three cell houses to be built at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility would add 800 beds with a total capital/project cost of $32,689,564,” said Amy Kent, communications director for the Indiana Department of Corrections.
The 530-acre state prison facility in Carlisle was constructed in 1992 and has currently has a capacity of 2,200 males, with security sections ranging from minimum to maximum.
Two new cell houses would be constructed at the Miami Correctional Facility that “would provide an additional 512 beds at capital/project cost of $18,281,877,” Kent said. This facility was opened in 1999 and has a capacity of 3,188.
“The five buildings will utilize the remaining unused building pads currently within our security fences. These are the estimated cost to build these units and do not include the cost to operate them,” Kent said.
Overall, Pence is proposing a state budget of $31.1 billion, between July 1 and June 30, 2017. It represents about $781 million more than the current state budget, approved in 2013.