A motorist passes the entrance to the Taft Youth Center in this file photo. The center is located north of Pikeville, Tenn.
Rep. Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, Wednesday in Nashville questions Department of Children’s Services Commissioner Kathryn O’Day, bottom right, about Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to close the Taft Youth Development Center. O’Day argued that the facility in Bledsoe County is the oldest and least efficient among the state’s five juvenile jails.NASHVILLE – Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s call for providing the most efficient services at the lowest cost ran into a wall of criticism Wednesday from members of his own party over his plans to shut down Taft Youth Development Center.
A bipartisan group of Government Operations Committee members focused their ire on Children’s Services Commissioner Kathryn O’Day, forcing her to defend her recommendations to Haslam for an hour.
Watching was an overflow crowd of Taft employees and top officials from Bledsoe County, where Taft is located, and Cumberland County.
O’Day maintained Taft deserves closure because it is the most costly of the five state prisons for young criminals.
She said closing Taft will result in an $8.5 million annual reduction in “unnecessary overhead we’re carrying.” That translates into about $4.4 million in actual savings because the money will be spent elsewhere within the department.