Gov. Stein calls for pay raises as NC correctional officer vacancies strain Morganton-area prisons

Gov. Josh Stein said North Carolina’s prisons are facing a staffing crisis that puts employees and the public at risk, and he urged lawmakers to invest in recruitment and retention as the General Assembly continues without a comprehensive state budget.

Speaking at a Correctional Leaders Association Southern Region meeting in Charlotte, Stein said starting pay for North Carolina correctional officers is the second lowest in the nation and that more than one-third of correctional officer positions statewide are unfilled.

“Correctional officers keep North Carolinians safe every day, but their work goes mostly unseen,” Stein said. “Without enough correctional officers, staff and the public are put at risk.”

Department of Adult Correction Secretary Leslie Dismukes said prisons are operating under critically low staffing levels and called for “meaningful pay increases that reflect the essential role correctional officers play in public safety.”

Stein’s proposed 2025–27 budget includes a $195 million public safety package that would address staffing shortages through pay increases and recruitment and retention bonuses, according to his office. The proposal also includes funding aimed at preventing school- and community-based violence and combating fentanyl and opioid trafficking.

In Burke County, the staffing challenge has direct local implications because Morganton is home to Foothills Correctional Institution, a state prison operated by the N.C. Department of Adult Correction. The facility, located at 5150 Western Ave., houses close- and minimum-custody adult male offenders and has an offender capacity listed at 858, according to the state.

Morganton also has other corrections-related operations in the area, and local law enforcement and court systems can feel the strain when staffing shortages ripple through transport, intake and supervision processes. Stein and Dismukes said the state needs budget certainty and sustained investment to stabilize staffing levels.

The governor said he will continue pressing lawmakers to pass a broader public safety package that includes raises for correctional officers and other law enforcement positions

— AVN