PHOENIX — One of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano’s proposals for reducing a state budget shortfall would put a financial hit on counties already facing lean financial times.
 Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona. |
The Democratic governor wants felons who are convicted of nonviolent crimes and sentenced to serve a year or less to do their time in county jails instead of state prisons.
The move was intended to save the state a projected $60.8 million as it tries to erase a projected revenue shortfall that the governor pegs at $1.2 billion.
“That would put a tremendous burden on everybody. I know it definitely would for us,” said Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada, who doubts his 100-prisoner jail has room for more inmates.
Napolitano said the costs for housing the prisoners would be less for counties than the state’s $60.8 million cost, because prisons cost more to operate than county jails. She said her idea was reasonable because her budget proposals protect other sources of funding for counties.
“We need to do something to begin reducing the new prison growth that we are experiencing,” Napolitano said. “That is a population that most states keep in their jails because jails of course are a lower cost type of facility.”
Deanne Poulos, a spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, said the move would have a huge financial effect on Maricopa County.
“The county recognizes that these are very difficult financial times and has done everything in their power to maintain their balanced budget,” Poulos said. “We expect that the state will make every attempt to do the same, and if there are legal and credible ways for the county to assist, we remain open to the negotiations to come.”
Noting that county officials wouldn’t be pleased with his stance, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said his jails can accommodate more prisoners and that he doesn’t believe that the governor’s proposal would bust his budget. His office has struggled with overtime costs.
Arpaio, who houses some inmates in tents without air conditioning, said he believes those serving sentences of a year or less ought to do their time in county jail.
“I’ll put up more tents if I have to,” Arpaio said.
State Senate Majority Leader Thayer Verschoor, a Republican from Gilbert, said he was willing to consider the idea, but he voiced concern about treating the counties fairly.
“It’s something that’s worth looking at,” Verschoor said.
Calls to several county supervisors weren’t returned late Friday afternoon, when the governor’s office released her budget proposals on the eve of a three-day weekend for most government officials and workers.
Napolitano aides said the shift would amount to 2,000 fewer inmates being in the state’s prison system — and an equal number of additional prisoners in county jails — on any given day. State prisons now house nearly 38,000 inmates.
Under the governor’s plan, three types of people convicted of nonviolent offenses would serve their time in county jails instead of prisons.
Those include felons sentenced to short prison stints as a condition of probation and offenders sent to prison for less than a year, typically because their time already served while awaiting trial has reduced their prison time to less than a year.
Another category would be people whose probation was revoked for failing drug tests or missing meetings with probation officers, not for committing new crimes.
Legislative approval is needed to carry out the governor’s proposal, because it involves a change to criminal sentencing laws.
Comments