Editorial: Growth holds no surprises

Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2006 | 8:05 a.m.

In the 1990s it was common for people in state and local government to explain away their staff shortages -- and less than adequate services -- by asking this rhetorical question: "Who could possibly have foreseen the extent of our phenomenal growth?"

Even then the question was dubious, as many projections in the 1970s and 1980s warned about the migration of Rust Belt residents to Southern and Southwestern regions, and of its coming effect on Nevada.

We hope government officials aren't going to be asking the same question 20 years from now, as a stock answer to an overwhelmed justice system. A Clark County study has provided a clear projection for what our courts will need in terms of staff by 2025.

District Court will need 48 new judges, and each judge requires a staff of four. Justice Courts will need 15 new judges, and both court systems will need hundreds more bailiffs, clerks and other employees.

This study alone provides stark warning of the legal system's heavy need for more staff to handle the caseload that is growing nonstop.

There are other indicators as well. An October audit of the Clark County Detention Center concluded that another 4,000 beds will be needed by 2020. Mikel Holt, deputy chief of detention services for Metro Police, estimated that another 900 corrections officers and another 500 civilian employees will be needed by that year, depending on the design of a new (and costly) jail. The current jail is already groaning -- as of last week there were 3,437 inmates and 2,859 beds.

Assistant District Attorney Christopher Lalli and Public Defender Phil Kohn told the Sun that their staffs together would have to increase by more than 1,600 employees if the projections for 2025 hold up. District Court Executive Officer Chuck Short said he would need another 193 employees. He also said he believes that the $185 million Regional Justice Center, which just opened last fall, would need another tower. Clark County Clerk Shirley Parraguirre says her office will need another 644 employees by 2025.

The projected needs just go on and on. And no one at the county or Legislature, now or 20 years from now, can say they haven't been warned about the "extent of our phenomenal growth."

The planning to meet our future public-service needs should begin now.