TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly says Kansas was "hoodwinked" into hiring a private company to build a new prison based on a promise that the new lockup would require less staff.

Kelly's comment during an Associated Press interview Friday comes as her corrections secretary questions whether the savings will materialize because of what he sees as a less-than-ideal prison design.

Savings are supposed to pay for building a new prison in Lansing to replace the existing one.

Former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback pushed the project as a way to replace the deteriorating prison at no additional net cost to the state. His administration assured lawmakers that the new prison could run safety with 45 percent fewer employees.

Kelly says: "We were just, you know, hoodwinked, I think."