The Wackenhut Corrections Corporation built the private South Bay Correctional Facility a cost 24 percent below that of the most comparable public prison, Okeechobee. The Department of Corrections spent $10 million more on site preparation to prepare a larger public prison site. South Bay and Okeechobee were operated using different percentages of capacity, requiring substantial adjustments to provide a fair comparison of operating costs. However, after those and other adjustments, South Bay’s operating costs were 3.5 percent lower during the 1997-98 fiscal year and 10.6 percent lower during 1998-99. The Correctional Privatization Commission could increase savings by improving its cost control efforts. For example, private prison vendors should not be reimbursed for corporate income tax and sales tax expenses without documentation. With the notable exception of the escape of two inmates in August 1999, the performance of the South Bay Correctional Facility has compared favorably. Notes, tables, figure, appendix