Monday, Feb. 6, 2006 | 12:34 p.m.
The U.S. Marshals Service has agreed to pay North Las Vegas about a $1 million more a year to house federal prisoners, apparently ending for now the city's threat to terminate the contract.
The issue, however, is not likely to disappear because North Las Vegas contends that it is still being shortchanged and plans to request another $600,000 to $1.2 million annually from the federal government.
The message from Washington to North Las Vegas about that new request: Don't start spending the extra money just yet.
Fidencio Rivera, chief deputy marshal in Las Vegas, said when the Marshals Service recently lifted a national freeze on rate increases enacted in February 2005 to deal with a budget shortfall, North Las Vegas got the rate increase it had sought since April.
"I can't in good conscience say (to my superiors) that this is a priority," Rivera said of the additional rate request.
"Nobody in the valley gets paid that much. There is minimal money available around the country, and other facilities haven't come to us in years asking for rate increases."
The Marshals Service has agreed to pay North Las Vegas $78.98 per inmate daily to house up to 450 inmates, an increase from the previous $72-per-day rate. The rate hike will not go into effect until the North Las Vegas City Council approves it.
The proposed new rate is higher than the $62.18 daily national average and the $71.85 a day that the Marshals Service pays Las Vegas to house prisoners awaiting trail in federal court and those held on immigration charges.
"They (Las Vegas) have a more efficient operation," Rivera said. "They take care of issues, and there is no problem with them. They are phenomenal."
North Las Vegas officials contend that the rate increases are warranted.
A management audit released in November said North Las Vegas is losing $1 million a year by housing federal prisoners and urged the city to terminate the contract if the Marshals Service was unwilling to pay more. The city, however, estimates its annual losses at about $2 million by including indirect costs for staffing in the city attorney's office, human resources and other departments.
Given the federal government's agreement to boost the rate to nearly $79 as requested, City Manager Gregory Rose said, the contract will be extended. He added that while city officials believe higher rates are justified, the city is willing to remain a partner with the federal government so long as the deal is fair.
"Our costs are continuing to increase, and we don't want to be in the position like we were before in lagging behind and not recouping our costs," Rose said. "I am hopeful they will look at ... North Las Vegas so we are not subsidizing their operations."
North Las Vegas, which has housed federal prisoners since 1992, has a 15-year contract with the Marshals Service that runs through 2017. The Marshals Service and Immigration and Naturalization Service spend about $14 million a year with North Las Vegas, Rivera said.
When the city approached the Marshals Service in 2004 about getting out of the contract, the city was told it could do so only if it repaid a $5.8 million federal grant in 2000 that was used to build a dormitory capable of housing 400 inmates, Rivera said.
North Las Vegas Finance Director Phil Stoeckinger said the city's new rate request will fall between $83 and $87 per inmate per day, with the exact amount to be determined after additional study. The city receives about $150,000 annually for each $1 increase in the rate, he said.
Rivera said the city has itself to blame for any gap between its expenses and payments. He said he warned North Las Vegas officials in mid-2004 that it needed to submit any rate hikes before a moratorium went into effect, but city officials failed to heed his warnings.
As for reimbursing the city for indirect costs, Rivera said, any rate hikes must be justified. To date, the city has lacked the accounting procedures to track such expenses, he said.
"We are willing to look at it and do an assessment and pay a fair price as long as they are providing good service," Rivera said.
Although the service has improved during the last six months, Rivera said, there have been too many inmate complaints during the past two years over food and medical attention. Judges and attorneys also have complained bout access to prisoners. The problems started after the police department took over operations of the jail, he said.
Rose said he is not aware of Rivera's concerns, adding that the jail has a process to address complaints. In October, North Las Vegas increased its annual spending on inmate health care by 41 percent after an internal study found its level was well below what other valley jails spent.
If North Las Vegas ultimately opts out of the contract, the Marshals Service lacks options for housing prisoners. Clark County had housed federal prisoners through 1998 but stopped because of a lack of space, Rivera said.
"We have people who are selling drugs and robbing banks in North Las Vegas too," Rivera said. "All of us in law enforcement need to be partners in this."
Overflow prisoners now are sent to California's San Bernardino County Jail for $66 a day and to Florence, Ariz., where the daily rate is $74.58.
Brian Wargo can be reached at 259-4011 or at [email protected].
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