(Radio Iowa) – A new security director will be installed in the Iowa Department of Corrections in response to the March 23rd attack by inmates at the Anamosa State Penitentiary that killed two staff members. In addition to the internal investigation underway, Governor Kim Reynolds says an external investigation is planned. “We’ll address any issues the investigations may reveal and we’ll do what’s necessary to protect our people. Nothing is more important than that,” Reynolds says. “Changes may require additional investment, something that I am fully committed to doing, and this includes making sure that the department and its facilities are adequately staffed.”

Reynolds says 93 percent of full-time positions in the prison system are currently filled. Hiring is underway to fill another five percent, but there is no money in the current year’s budget to cover the remaining two percent of positions. House Republicans are preparing a budget plan that would provide nearly 20-and-a-half million more dollars to the Department of Corrections. Representative Ross Wilburn, a Democrat from Ames, says 20 million seems like a lot, but it doesn’t adequately address the security situation exposed by the attacks at Anamosa. “This entire budget is one that’s been woefully underfunded,” Wilburn says.

Republican Representative Gary Worthan of Storm Lake defends the plan. “We have gotten this budget to the point where maybe it’s not 100% optimal,” Worthan says, “but it’s getting dang close.” Worthan says there is no way to eliminate 100 percent of the risk of working in a prison. “Unfortunately, people are trying to make political hay out of that tragedy. Anamosa is approved for 311 positions; 288 are filled as of the last pay period and 15 are in the process of hiring,” Worthan says. “Anamosa, by any stretch of the imagination, was not understaffed.”

Representative Chris Hall, a Democrat from Sioux City, says the Anamosa incident highlights the dire need for more staff and better security in an overcrowded prison system. “To say that we are playing politics is unfortunate and I would just say it seems to be a two-way street,” Hall says, “so we should all be careful of what we are saying when we point the finger if we have not looked at ourselves directly in the mirror first.”

In January, Governor Reynolds recommended a five million dollar increase in the state prison system budget, for salaries and staffing. Last month, Senate Republicans said they had settled on a four million dollar increase.