Corrections: Even with cuts, public safety and corrections jobs may be spared for now

There will be layoffs at the Utah Department of Corrections.

It's safe to say there will be across-the-board cuts to the department, agency spokeswoman Angie Welling said after the governor's budget was released Thursday.

Corrections has been ordered to make $17.8 million in cuts, in addition to nearly $8 million already slashed during the special session of the Legislature. However, the governor did offer nearly $9 million to backfill the agency for 2010 only, which could keep people employed for at least another year.

In the aftermath of an officer's slaying, the governor proposes hiring four transportation officers and funding an aging prison population with $1.5 million in medical costs.

The Utah Department of Public Safety plans to rely on one-time monies already set aside to avert layoffs, said agency spokesman Jeff Nigbur. Numbers are still being analyzed to figure out the full impact.

Everybody's going to have to take lumps and make it work, he said.

— Ben Winslow