LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder says he plans to push ahead with plans to privatize food service for the state's 45,000 prison inmates under a proposed $145 million, 3-year contract.
Snyder tells the Detroit Free Press that he'll consider objections from Republican state Sen. Tom Casperson of Escanaba and unionized prison employees and others but won't let them block the process.
The State Administrative Board plans to consider the contract Tuesday with Aramark Correctional Services of Philadelphia. The contract would eliminate 370 Corrections Department jobs.
The Snyder administration has said the change could cut prison food service costs by 20 percent, or about $16 million a year.
Casperson has said that the bidding process was flawed.
