By Corrections1 Staff
MANCHESTER, N.H. — The New Hampshire DOC has partnered with a local PR firm as it continues to face a staffing crisis.
The Governor’s Executive Council voted 4-1 in favor of a $324,000 contract with m5 Marketing Communications, Inc. to develop an advertising strategy for the prison that will help with recruiting efforts, the Manchester Ink Link reports.
In a press release issued by Teamsters Local 633 in June, the shortage of COs in New Hampshire prisons has created a “major safety crisis.”. Data shows that staffing at the facilities is about 50 percent lower than what was recommended as optimal in a 2012 audit.
Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky, who opposed the contract, said that the solution for staffing shortages goes beyond rebranding the prison’s image.
“I voted against the contract because I do not think a re-branding effort will overcome the insufficient wages paid to corrections employees or the refusal of the state to negotiate a fair contract with any of the three unions representing corrections employees,” Volinsky said.
The money that will be used to pay for the contract will come from the state’s general fund. The contract will be up for renewal in two years.