County Commissioners were able to discuss concerns during a meeting on Friday between Gov. Bill Ritter and commissioners from six counties.
Commissioners from Crowley, Otero, Bent, Prowers, Kiowa and Baca Counties attended the meeting at the Otero County Courthouse to discuss issues of importance to Southeast Colorado.
Bent County Commissioner Bill Long spoke of his concern about the Bent County Correctional Facility and the possibility of changes that might impact Las Animas and Bent County.
"Making big changes in the system would really upset the apple cart," Long said, urging the Governor to keep the beds in that facility full.
Changes to the prison system and shuffling prisoners between prisons has caused concern for some in Bent and other counties where private prisons are located.
The addition of 5,000 new beds over five years might not happen, Ritter said, but his concern lies with recidivism.
Ritter said Colorado has a 50 percent recidivism rate, which means that 50 percent of prisoners who are released go back to prison after committing another crime.
Comparing it to other states, the Governor said the rate is excessive and he said there are programs to cut down on that rate.
"We're going to keep working at recidivism reduction," he said.
For more on the Governor's visit see this week's edition of the Bent County Democrat
