Fee dispute puts detention center in danger of losing inmates

Kim Smith

Friday, Sept. 10, 1999 | 11:16 a.m.

The Clark County Detention Center is in danger of losing its federal inmates and a $2 million contract with the Jusitce Department because of a dispute over prisoner fees.

If the dispute is not settled by Sept. 30, the federal inmates currently housed in the detention center will end up in the North Las Vegas Detention Center and elsewhere.

The Justice Department and U.S. Marshal's Service apparently do not agree with the $80 per day per inmate fee charged by Clark County and they shorted the county on its April bill, Mitchell Cohen, deputy district attorney, said.

Joe Gumiensky, Clark County Detention Center financial officer, said the Justice Department's April payment was almost $22,000 short, but subsequent months have been been paid in full.

April's bill is one of the issues that must be resolved if the agencies hope to continue their relationship, said Dave Turner, a Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Marshal's Service spokesman.

According to the contract, Clark County agreed to house up to 70 inmates in its 1,500-bed facility in exchange for $80 a day per inmate, Gumiensky said. The Justice Department pays the fee on a monthly basis.

Turner said the Marshal's Service pays an average housing rate of $55.41 a day per inmate nationally.

Gumiensky said he does not know if April's shortage was an error or intentional.

"We talked to the county people and the district attorney and the DA wrote them a letter and asked what happened," Gumiensky said. "As far as I know, they haven't responded yet."

A Marshal's Service official in Las Vegas, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Justice Department came to the conclusion it was being overcharged for services after conducting an audit.

Turner confirmed the fee dispute is part of the ongoing talks between the agencies.

"For 15 years we have had a mutually beneficial agreement with the Clark County Detention people and the people at our district office in Las Vegas and our prisoner services division here are talking to the Clark County people because we hope to continue this agreement," Turner said. "It has been a long and positive relationship."

Turner declined to comment further.

Cohen called the negotiated rate "fair."

"The Marshal's Service did an audit and they think the rate should be less, but it's a moot point given the fact it was a negotiated agreement," Cohen said.

At this point, the district attorney's office and Justice Department are exchanging letters, Cohen said. The hope is the two can sit down soon to negotiate an agreement.

"Either we will negotiate a satisfactory rate or the contract will end at the end of the month," Cohen said.

As for April's shortfall, Cohen said "we would like to resolve all of our disputes and if we enter a new contract it could be resolved through the new contract."

However, Cohen said litigation is possible.

In recent months the U.S. Marshal's Service has been approached by Pahrump officials who are interested in housing federal inmates, the Las Vegas Marshal's Service official.

And while the service prefers the Clark County Detention Center because of its high security and proximity to the courthouse, he noted "a bed is a bed."

Nye County Sheriff Wade Lieseke did not return phone calls.

Ken Ellingson, chief of detention for the city of North Las Vegas, said his facility has contracts with the U.S. Marshal's Office, Federal Bureau of Prisons and Immigration and Naturalization Service to house prisoners.

Should negotiations not work out between Clark County and the U.S. Marshal's Service, Ellingson said his facility would probably be able to accept at least some of the federal inmates.

North Las Vegas charges INS and the Marshal's Service $62 per day per inmate and the Bureau of Prisons $55 per day per inmate, Ellingson said. The facility currently has between 300 and 350 federal inmates.

Ellingson said he would like to increase those rates to $70 when he negotiates new contracts.

The city of Las Vegas charges the federal government $65 per day per inmate, said Mike Sheldon, chief deputy of detention and enforcement. The Las Vegas Detention Center averages about 160 federal inmates a day.