Governor Breaks Ground on New Corrections Headquarters

Governor Breaks Ground on New Corrections Headquarters

Renovations to Convert Tift College Campus to DOC Headquarters Begin Fall 2006

FORSYTH, Ga. - Governor Sonny Perdue broke ground today on a renovation project at the vacant campus of Tift College in Forsyth-Monroe County. Once complete, the Georgia Department of Corrections (DOC) will move its five metro Atlanta headquarter locations into the renovated facilities in Forsyth, Georgia. Governor Perdue was joined today by officials from the Forsyth-Monroe County Chamber of Commerce, the city of Forsyth, DOC and members of the Board of Corrections.

"Moving the Department of Corrections headquarters to central Georgia is a wise business decision," said Governor Sonny Perdue. “Not only will this relocation save taxpayer dollars, but the department will be better positioned to protect the people of Georgia because its headquarters will be closer to most of its facilities.”

The new Forsyth headquarters will be closer to the department’s geographical center of operations. The DOC has five prisons located north of Atlanta and 35 prisons south of Macon.

Moving the DOC headquarters to Forsyth will relocate up to 400 central office staff to the Tift College campus, an estimated annual payroll of $25 million. The consolidation and reduced rent payments will save the DOC $4 million annually. The DOC will keep a small office in Atlanta for use by the Board of Corrections.

Renovations of the campus will begin in fall 2006. Governor Perdue included $7.5 million in his 2007 budget for design and abatement planning for the renovation project. Final consolidation of the DOC headquarters will occur in 2008 and 2009.

“We are grateful for Governor Perdue’s vision and leadership and the continued support of our state legislators for this move to Central Georgia,” said Commissioner Jim Donald. “This ground-breaking ceremony is the first step in an extensive relocation process that will position us to increase our operational efficiency and make Corrections more accessible for the citizens of Georgia.”

Forsyth Mayor Jimmy Pace, Chamber of Commerce President Tiffany G. Andrews and a host of business and community leaders played an important role supporting the DOC move to the historic Tift Campus.

The new site will free critical housing and training facilities currently at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC) for other municipal and state law enforcement training requirements. Some 12,000 DOC employees will be trained and more than 200 classes will be offered for staff development at the new DOC training academy, which will also be a part of the complex on the Tift campus. With the exception of firearms training, DOC will be able to perform all Corrections and Probation Officer training at the new headquarters location.

More than 200 DOC employees already work in the Forsyth-Monroe County community. The Al Burruss Correctional Training Center, located in Forsyth, currently houses 300 inmates and will support the new headquarters. The Georgia Corrections Training Academy and the Care and Custody Warehouse are also located in Forsyth-Monroe County.

“Our core mission is to incarcerate inmates and supervise probationers and maintain public trust by the level of excellence we invest in our work,” said Commissioner Donald. “We’re committed to making Corrections the best managed agency in the best managed state in the nation.”

The Department of Corrections is responsible for supervising more than 50,000 state prisoners and 140,000 probationers. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with nearly 15,000 Corrections professionals.

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