A new contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) could bring in up to $2 million in revenues for Navajo County.
The Board of Supervisors approved an agreement to house BIA inmates in the Navajo County Jail during a special meeting held Oct. 17.
Sheriff KC Clark noted that the jail could potentially house up to 100 inmates for the BIA at a rate of $55 per day for each inmate.
“Even if we average 50 inmates, that’s $1 million,” Clark said.
The county’s current budget is already set, and includes a property tax increase to make up for lost income. It does not include potential revenue from BIA inmates, but the additional revenues could help meet future financial challenges.
“It could get us out of some tight spots, especially if we don’t get PILT (payment in lieu of taxes),” Clark noted. “But we’ve learned not to depend on these contracts. They come and go.”
According to Clark, the BIA requested a five-year contract. The contract period is retroactive to Aug. 2, 2014, and will run through July 31, 2019. Clark pointed out that the request for such a length gives him hope that the county will continue to receive inmates regularly throughout the contract period.
BIA inmates to be housed at the jail include those waiting to be transported and for court hearings, those serving sentences and inmates convicted of tribal offenses. Clark noted that the contract is not tribe-specific, and potential inmates could come from the Hopi and Navajo tribes, and possibly the White Mountain Apache Tribe.
“This will be through the BIA police,” he said. “There is a lack of bed space in Indian country.”
Clark noted that the contract will fill empty beds in the jail and produce revenue for the county, but will not result in a lack of room for individuals charged with crimes in Navajo County. He explained that between the Holbrook and Show Low complexes there are about 500 beds, and the average daily population is about 220.
He further explained that in the past some local arrestees were not booked in the county jail due to overcrowding caused by contracts, but he will not allow that to become the case, even if the average daily population increases.
“It is not a good policy to not have beds,” he said. “There will always be room for any Navajo County citizen who needs to go to jail.”
Revenues generated through the agreement will go into the county’s general fund. Clark noted that he hopes they will be made available to help pay off some of the jail debt.
“The board’s been very generous,” he said. “We used to keep separate funds, but we don’t need to do that now.”
