More money sought for jail projects

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, April 3, 2002 | 11:08 a.m.

Clark County Manager Thom Reilly delivered grim news to commissioners Tuesday when he requested $30 million to cover budget overruns at the Regional Justice Center and Detention Center expansion.

But construction-related overruns won't be the only taxing costs to the county -- housing county inmates until the detention center opens in November may cost another $5 million.

An agreement that allows the county to pay the city about $1 million a year to house inmates in a city-owned facility expires April 30. The county will then have to pay $50 per inmate per day.

The 510 county inmates held in city jail Tuesday, for example, will cost the county $25,500 a day when the agreement expires. Over seven months, that amounts to more than $5 million.

County Finance Director George Stevens said the $5 million is in the budget because of anticipated delays in construction and in hiring staff.

Stevens confirmed the housing costs were not included in budget overrides that Reilly described in an apologetic request for more money.

"It is with a sense of great dissatisfaction that I stand before you today to inform you that an additional appropriation will be needed in order to complete these projects," Reilly said.

Voters approved the $120 million for public safety projects in 1996, long before Reilly became county manager. Still, Reilly vowed to find out why the delays occurred and why they took so long to address.

"Once the problems associated with these projects have been identified and completely corrected, I intend to give the board and our taxpayers a full accounting of the problems," Reilly said.

Aviation Director Randy Walker, assigned to supervise construction of the courthouse and jail because of his experience in overseeing large projects, said the Regional Justice Center will be finished by Dec. 15 and open for business in September 2003.

The 1,300-bed expansion to the detention center will be finished June 7, but not furnished and fit for inmates until November.

Sheriff Jerry Keller said local police agencies are scrambling to find cells for prisoners. In all of Southern Nevada on Tuesday, there were only 81 jail cell beds available.

"We're out; we're full," Keller said. "Completion of this is critical. We will be full right when we open the doors."

Finding alternative housing for misdemeanor inmates would do little to solve the problem. Misdemeanor inmates make up only 15 percent of Clark County jails' population; 85 percent are felons waiting to go to trial, Keller said.

"Crime is up for the first time in seven years," Keller said. "We need the facility to house those who can't cooperate in society."

In his presentation about what has caused chronic delays at the courthouse and jail, Walker skirted details about conflicts between subcontractors and a lack of organization by the companies involved.

"There were a lot of problems and a lot of confusion," Walker said. "We had to get them back on track."

Clark County officials expect to try to recover at least a portion of the overrun costs in court after the two projects are completed. Neither the county nor general contractor A.F. Construction have accepted the blame.

District Attorney Stewart Bell said his office has documented the events and will be prepared to provide evidence showing the county is not at fault when lawsuits are filed.

Until then, the county will absorb most of the costs. The city will contribute $3 million of the $33 million override.

Stevens said $15 million of the override costs will be taken from unspent bond money and $15 million will come from discretionary funds.

Reilly's explanation, Walker's assurance the projects are back on track and Stevens' assessment the county can come up with the money hardly appeased board members.

"I anticipate this won't happen again," Commissioner Erin Kenny said. "That we'll never get this far along in a project and have so much mismanagement at our doorstep."