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The City of Winslow held a town hall meeting last week to educate voters on Proposition 421. The Proposition, otherwise known as the Jail District Tax, will be the sole item on an Aug. 27 special election ballot.
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The topic of the jail district has been discussed since 2018, when it was announced that the Cholla Power Plant will end coal burning electricity production by 2025. The closure of the plant will result in a loss of $2.5 million in yearly property tax revenue for the county as well as funding for school districts, county services and much more.
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According to County Manager Glen Kephart, Navajo County is already operating with minimal staff and services and the expected shortfall from the plant closure will tighten the county budget even further.
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“Last year, the jail district was on the ballot. Of 35,000 votes, the proposition didn’t pass by about 162. Citizens were not aware that it was going to impact general services. They thought it was to build a new jail or renovate our jail. It is not. What we realized is that we didn’t do a good job educating people to let them know that this is about preserving the basic services that the county provides on a daily basis.
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“We are losing $2.5 million because of the decline in the coal industry. We looked at 17 different options for replacing that revenue and the only one that made sense was the jail district tax. It provides replacement revenue. It does that through a one-third cent sales tax. Everything that you purchase that is currently taxed in Navajo County will be taxed one-third of a penny more. If you buy a $3 item, it is an additional penny. A $6 item is two cents extra. If you buy a new vehicle, it is a little more, but we want people to understand that the trade off for that is that if we don’t replace that revenue, we are going to have to continue a reduction in services. We have already been doing that for the last 10 years. Over those years, we have become very lean. In some ways, that’s healthy, but honestly, in some areas, we have become too lean. We have given up services in the past that we wish we still had.”
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Kephart continued to explain the impact the shortfall will have on schools. “The superintendent of schools could not be here today but if she were she would tell you that she can barely process payroll for all of the school districts to make sure the teachers get paid. Our treasurer would tell you that if she loses any additional staff, and she will need to, she won’t get the money to the school districts in a timely manner and they will have to tap in to their lines of credit. That means that money doesn’t go to the classroom, it goes to the bank. That is the reality of the situation. That is just one example of important services that will suffer if we don’t find a revenue replacement.”
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Navajo County Attorney, Brad Carlyon said, “This will still be a little bit short of what we need to replace but one-third cent is the maximum we can tax under the Arizona Statutes. If we don’t pass the jail district, I will be down to 10 prosecutors. Felonies have gone up 30 percent in the last 11 years since I have been the county attorney. We barely get by doing what we do.
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“Right now, the county has a contract with each municipality in the county, but we won’t be able to continue prosecuting misdemeanors if this doesn’t pass because my focus will have to be on major felonies. Some felonies will slip through as well.
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“So, in addition to jail fees, the City of Winslow would also have to set up a municipal court as well as pay defense and prosecuting attorneys. It will become an enormous cost to your city. My attorneys have about 100 cases apiece, that is not normal, and it is not sustainable. Furthermore, we will not be able to continue our drug court or veterans’ court programs because we will not be able to afford it. Those programs have been highly effective. The drug court program has a 70 percent success rate. These services and the mental health services that we are implementing will go away.”
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Navajo County Sheriff David Clouse said, “We have what we call jail fees. Every time a municipality books an offender in to the jail they are being charged a booking fee and a daily housing rate. That costs the cities a lot of money. Those are not there as a punishment or to work against our partnership with those cities, it is there to help offset the cost to run the jail. That is something that we have had to continually raise, which is not advantageous for public safety. Often it is a deterrent to some cities who have to police on a model of economics because they can’t afford those fees. We see those cities struggle. This tax will eliminate those costs.”
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According to Clouse, the loss of revenue will also impact public safety in that the Sheriff’s Office is slated to cut seven positions in each of the next two years. “Part of those are deputies and part are detention officers. When Chief Brown calls and needs us to help, we may not be able to do so due to not having enough people to meet those needs. If this passes we will be able to maintain our numbers, but unfortunately not bring on more deputies. It will just keep us afloat, keep us at the status quo.”
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Winslow Police Chief Dan Brown added, “I am not here to tell you how to vote. Just to inform you on how this affects the City of Winslow. If you look at two years ago our costs were under $100,000. Not a lot of people were going to jail that should have been. We had a warrant list when I got here that was 40 pages long. People weren’t going to jail because of costs and transportation. That meant our streets were not as safe.
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“Last year, we spent a lot more money and this year we are on track to spend $260 thousand just in booking, housing and transportation. We had a 202 percent increase in bookings over last year. Our streets are safer. We have been able to book them on misdemeanor crimes so that they aren’t out committing felonies. We are decreasing our crime rates. Without the jail district, we will spend $328 thousand next year to incarcerate people who need to go to jail. We just can’t afford that. Something has to give. If this passes the City of Winslow will experience an immediate savings of at least $328,000 a year and over the life of the jail district, which is 20 years, the City of Winslow will save $6.5 million.”
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Booking, housing and transportation are not the only costs associated with jail fees. Carlyon said, “The county picks up medical fees associated with incarcerated persons. The jail district tax would pick up that bill, otherwise, it will be passed back to municipalities. There are many costs associated with housing inmates and getting them the treatment and programs that will help put them on better life paths. The thing is, if this does not pass, the state will have to subsidize our costs. So, you will pay one way or the other. That could be in the way of state income tax or state sales tax. Or, this local county tax where we have better control of our money.”
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Winslow Mayor Tom McCauley is a proponent of Proposition 421. “I publicly support this. It is one of the opportunities we have as a community to benefit everybody that lives here. This is one way to clean up our streets and save some money. This is a great option for us. Anytime that we are talking about a tax increase, we have to look at what the benefits to every person in our county could be. This is one way to make sure we maintain consistency and vital services. I would highly encourage everyone to research this proposition and make sure you vote Aug. 27.”
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Proposition 421 will be on the ballot county-wide on Aug. 27. Early voting begins July 31.
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