Prison census debate makes its way to Georgia; some Calif. towns disappointed with their prisons

Georgia appears to be the latest state to debate the census count of prisoners held in rural areas. "Rural Georgia’s gain is urban Georgia’s pain: Financially strapped cities want their fair share of $450 billion dispensed annually by Washington, particularly in a recession when budgets are tight," Dan Chapman of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. "The money, based largely on census counts, pays for roads, Medicaid, lunch programs and other federal programs."

"That’s not fair," Democratic state Rep. Bob Bryant, of Garden City, who sits on the House Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Committee, told Chapman. "The money should go back to where people come from. That area should benefit," said Bryant. Richard West, vice chairman of the Calhoun County Commission, disagrees: "The prison does cost our county some money and some wear, tear and stress. There are some pluses and minuses both ways. But it all comes out in the wash." Almost one in four Calhoun County residents is a prisoner.

"We’ve got agriculture and we’ve got the prison. We’ve got no other industrial activities," West told Chapman. Prisons aren't the only institutions with temporary residents. People residing at universities, colleges, nursing homes and military installations also will skew population counts in favor of the communities they temporarily live in, Chapman writes. (Read more)

"Can a new prison save a town?" the Los Angeles Times asks. "Many California towns welcome new correctional facilities — and the jobs that come with them — hoping they'll revive the local economy. But the results can be disappointing." Here is the story by Alana Semuels.