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In an unprecedented display of unity, leaders, business people, first responders and citizens packed the gallery at the Navajo County Board of Supervisors, as 32 people spoke in support of reissuing the proposed Navajo County Jail District Tax to the voters that would levy a one-third cent sales tax in the non-tribal land communities of Navajo County at the meeting on Feb. 12. After which, the board unanimously voted to bring the jail district tax back before the voters in August.
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With community representation from Winslow, Holbrook, Snowflake, Taylor, Show Low, Pinetop and Lakeside along with leaders from Navajo and Hopi tribes from Shonto, Kayenta, Pinon and White Cone, including President Jonathan Nez of the Navajo Nation and the Apache leadership from Whiteriver and Cibecue, the common voice was clearly in support of the jail district tax.
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Vice Chairman Jason Whiting even noted, “We have never had this many people show up with a unified voice; I think we are all starting to understand how important this issue truly is.”
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In his final act before retiring, Sheriff KC Clark asked the board again to consider bringing the one-third cent jail district tax back before the voters in August.
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Clark shared how the previous day he had sat with his staff and cut $500,000 from his budget. “Next year, they will have to cut another half million from the budget,” continued Clark. “We didn’t do a good job on getting the word out. We had a record turnout of voters, but that went against us. I heard that nearly 3,000 voters didn’t vote at all on the Proposition 419; which is the right thing to do if you don’t know how to vote on it.”
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Clark went on to share how the current budget cuts will cost more deputy positions, which in turn will limit public safety. By July 1, the jail fees will go up for the towns and cities as well as inmate medical costs. Even the Navajo County Fair will be impacted by the reduced budget.
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Assistant County Manager Bryan Layton gave a brief overview of the continued impacts the county is facing without the funding from the Jail District Tax. “If we do nothing the county would be in the negative by $13.5 million by 2024, which can’t happen as we are required to balance the budget. But this shows the long term impact.”
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The current plan the county is implementing reduces the budget by $1 million this year with an additional $2 million reduction in the following year. Layton said, “We will use vacancies and attrition as much as possible. The current changes we are looking at are largely restructuring responsibilities. These reductions come on the heels of a decade long recession at the county. Our offices and departments have cut their budgets year after year. We have become very lean. It is hard to operate and deliver services that residents expect.”
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Whiting requested an explanation of the medical costs for inmates that the towns and cities will be sharing without a jail district. To which Layton answered, “The jail fees are what our cities and towns pay when an arrest is made and the person is housed in the jail. Currently, it is the cost of medical that most concerns all of us. As a county, we pay just under $1 million to provide inmate medical services: $600,000 are the base cost of medical to provide 24/7 coverage and $300,000 plus in emergency care for services that cannot be provided at the jail. Sharing in those costs would have to happen with the cities and towns. It is very difficult to budget for.”
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Whiting then stated, “So when anyone goes into the jail, the responsibility of cost for their medical is directly tied to us?”
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Layton concurred, “As soon as an inmate enters into the sheriff’s custody, they lose AHCCCS (Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System) coverage and the county becomes 100 percent responsible for any medical cost deemed necessary. One emergency might require a flight to Flagstaff or Phoenix at the AHCCCS rate which is $26,000 for the flight alone.”
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Several of the leaders, including Nez, stated that bringing the jail district to the voters for a second time was not defying the initial vote of the people. “We just have more information now, and truly believe that the jail district could help supplement the shortfall to the general fund as well as maintain the public safety,” said Nez, who also reminded the board that while tribal members do not pay property taxes, they buy goods and services in the towns and cities throughout the county, which enables them to fully contribute to the sales tax base.
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Both Chief Dan Brown of the Winslow Police Department and Chief Nathan Christensen with the Holbrook Police Department brought hard data to the discussion showing the devastating impact the lack of a jail district will have on the communities of Winslow and Holbrook due to the rise in cost for public safety.
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Brown said, “We had more than a 200 percent increase in jail bookings from 2017 to 2018. We are not going to book less people and it will become a huge tax burden for our taxpayers without the jail district tax. The jail system here is a good one and we want to see that partnership continue. We are in absolute support of this tax.”
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Christensen shared an even darker picture for Holbrook should the jail district tax not go through. “Last year we booked over 450 people and it cost us $118,000 in fees, without the jail district we face the potential to pay more than $200,000 in fees. Without the county processing misdemeanors, the city will have to hire a magistrate, city attorney, court clerks to process our misdemeanors, plus we will have to have transport officers to bring our people from the jail to the court hearings. With our limited budgets we would have to replace officer positions to fill those positions which would leave us even more shorthanded.”
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Holbrook City Councilman Earl Kester fully lent his support to the tax and clearly voiced the aspect that with the tax, every tourist coming to the communities within the county would be helping to pay for the jail district. “I haven’t heard anyone say anything about the people who come here into every town in Navajo County; that is tax money, we are going to get a lot of tax money from tourists and they come from other counties, and they are paying taxes too, they will pay more than we do, I’m sure of that.”
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Cory Johnson, vice chairman on the Snowflake Unified School District Governing Board as well as a councilman with the Town of Snowflake said, “Being on the school board and town council, I heard what the jail district tax would do for the county but didn’t understand how the lack of it would affect our schools and towns. If the board will allow this to go back to a vote, we will better educate our people.”
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Bob Schlesinger and Samantha Crisp, councilmembers with the City of Winslow, expressed their disappointment that the tax didn’t pass in this last election. “We feel with more education to the general public it will pass and we want to go on record that the City of Winslow is behind this,” said Schlesinger.
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Holbrook Mayor Phil Cobb noted briefly, “This jail district tax is very important to the City of Holbrook as it will cost our citizens a substantial amount of money if this does not go through.”
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Kerry Ballard, vice mayor of Snowflake and David Smith, mayor of Taylor, expressed their support of the tax and encouraged the county for greater education of the voters. First responders, Brent Young with Joseph City Fire District and Fire Chief Willie Nelson with Taylor-Snowflake Fire and Medical Department, also offered their support of the tax.
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Navajo County Superintendent of Schools Jalyn Gerlich, questioned the sustainability of her department under the current budget cuts. “My staff has done a terrific job, but can it be sustained? I can’t promise that. We are looking at back up plans; but our lines of credits for our districts will be impacted.”
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Robbie Koerperich, superintendent of Holbrook Unified School District, gave a sweeping view of just how big the schools are in Navajo County. “We have 14 districts, 44 public schools, 17,000 students and 2,500 employees, with over $200 million for budgets for the school districts. I am here to support any effort to revenues in Navajo County.”
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Midway through speakers, Emerson Lee with the Navajo Nation Police Department approached the podium, “I am a product of Holbrook High School and I am emotionally committed here. If I need to get on the road and hand out pamphlets with sodas to get the word about this jail district tax, I will be glad to do it.”
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Other speakers from around the county included: Gwendena Lee-Gatewood, chairwoman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe; Dr. Mike Wright, superintendent of Blue Ridge Unified School District (BRUSD); Daryl Seymore, mayor of Show Low; Stephanie Irwin, mayor of Pinetop-Lakeside; Chief Joe Shelley with the Show Low Police Department; Fire Chief Jim Morgan with the Pinetop-Lakeside Fire District; Fire Chief Bryan Savage with the Timber Mesa Fire Department; Fire Chief Dee McCluskey with the Heber-Overgaard Fire District; Fire Chief Bob Garvin with the Clay Springs-Pinedale Fire Department; Brenda Thomas Martinez, finance director for BRUSD; Amy Johnson, realtor; Robin Jaeger, real estate broker; Ivan Sydney former chairman of the Hopi tribe; Ed Seaton, vice chairman of Kayenta Township; and Betsy Allen from Pinon.
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Before the board entertained a motion for the jail district tax, Deputy Chief David Clouse spoke, “Just because we cut the budget doesn’t mean the phone doesn’t stop ringing at our 911 dispatch center. People expect and need services, they want us to be patrolling. If we continue to do these cuts, we will be a reactive agency and not a proactive agency.”
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The board unanimously passed a resolution of support to establish a jail district in Navajo County for the purpose of providing a dedicated revenue stream to support the existing jail and relieve the general fund of the burden of supporting the entire cost of the jail. The final decision on the matter will come from the voters in August.
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