BOC Budget Hearing Exposes $21.1 Million Local Inmate Cost, Off-Island Care Concerns and 69 Vacancies

Differences in the cost of housing inmates locally and in mainland facilities dominated the Bureau of Corrections’ budget hearing Thursday, where lawmakers also pressed officials on the treatment of off-island inmates, family notifications, overtime savings, staffing levels, consent decree costs and outstanding medical bills. BOC is requesting $36,476,665 for fiscal year 2027, an increase of $461,171 over FY2026. Vendor payments account for $14.5 million of the total request and include payments to house and feed inmates placed off-island. According to BOC Director Wynnie Testamark, the Bureau budgeted $7.9 million for those costs in FY2025. The cost of housing inmates locally is significantly higher. According to Director Testamark, “maintaining an inmate in the territory amounts to $320 per day.” With 181 inmates housed by the Bureau as of June 2026, that amounts to an annual cost of $21,140,800. By comparison, BOC funds the care of 170 inmates overseas: 33 inmates at a Virginia f...