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DENVER—Gov. Bill Ritter says the state is no longer considering closing a prison in Rifle to balance the budget.
Ritter says selling the facility, land and water rights would have generated $5 million and produced an annual savings of $600,000. But he said he was persuaded by the community it wasn’t necessary.
The recommendation to close the 192-bed Rifle prison was among budget-balancing suggestions submitted to the Joint Budget Committee last month.
Lawmakers are struggling to cut nearly $1 billion from the state budget over the next year and a half.
