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Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010 | 10:51 a.m.
Sun Coverage
More layoffs will be coming to North Las Vegas city employees this week.
U.S. Marshals plan to move 250 inmates from the North Las Vegas Detention Center to a new facility in Pahrump, said North Las Vegas Police spokesman Tim Bedwell. Marshals currently rent the bed space from the North Las Vegas Detention Center, Bedwell said.
“When you lose the beds that the U.S. Marshals Service is paying for … obviously we have to cut staff,” Bedwell said.
The change will result in the loss of 26 corrections officer positions, 27 civilian positions and about five part-time employees, he said. Those employees will be notified of their job status this week, he said.
Ten of those workers had previously taken a voluntary separation package with the city, so those positions aren't included in the layoff numbers.
The new facility in Pahrump – the Nevada Southern Detention Center — will be run by Corrections Corporation of America, which has a contract with the federal government, said Assistant Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Javier Jimenez.
“It increases the number of total beds available,” Jimenez said. “It will meet our current needs, but it will also meet our future needs.”
North Las Vegas' job loss was Pahrump's gain: Jimenez said the new facility created jobs for 250 employees, about half of whom were Nevada residents.
Bedwell said the loss of revenue will be about $9.7 million per calendar year. However, he said, the city will save about $1.68 million by not having to care for the additional inmates.
“That’s fewer people who we have to feed,” Bedwell said. “That’s savings in addition to the personnel cut savings.”
U.S. Marshals will keep 50 of their beds at the North Las Vegas facility, Bedwell said.
The $9.7 million used to go into the city’s general fund for operational services, such as keeping the detention center up and running, Bedwell said.
In June, North Las Vegas cut 188 positions to balance its budget, city spokeswoman Juliet Casey said. Those positions were unrelated to the current cuts at the North Las Vegas Detention Center, she said.
Bedwell said no police officers have been laid off because a hiring freeze was instituted about two years ago.
“When the city had its first round of layoffs, we were already 90 officers down,” Bedwell said. “We had positions we could have filled, but we didn’t.”
Bedwell said the U.S. Marshals plan to move the inmates to the new facility in early October.
The real question is....why is it costing $38,800 per year to "house" an inmate? Bet it doesn't cost that in Phoenix!
Everyone needs to keep there eyes on the CCA in Nye county.
North Las Vegas is starting to suck. All of our leaders suck so I guess it doesn't make any difference.
freddie - starting to suck? where have you been for 40 years - it has always sucked!
I love government math.
We lose $9.7 Million in Revenue but we SAVE $1.68 Million because we do not have to look after the inmates and can lay off some people? Hmmm. Maybe this is the reason they cannot balance a budget?
America should just pick a state (For example Alaska), and build many huge prisons there. Ship all the convicts up there. They can work hard labor in the mines and pipelines. Free up lots of expenses and BS from each state.
Next up should be the firemen. Privatize an under worked bunch of loafers. CC had 300 fires last year-what's that, one a day? For this, we pay big time. The party's over, loafers.
To nednougat; your jealousy is very unbecoming. Your dream of becoming a firefighter will be just that, a dream. So move on and get over it...
My buddy Tundra, anybody who thinks we shouldn't be paying 2-3x the national average for a service is jealous and wants to be a ff. Got it.
To Unsilent; (AKA Mr.Sisolak ;) ).. What is the " National Average". Are we talking base pay and overtime?. What states are you taking your comparisons from?. Please do tell, after all you are the " Oracle" when it comes to the Las Vegas Valley Fire Protetion and Services.
I look forward to your wisdom and input.
Your friend who agrees to disagree..
?
The tax payers better hope the CC firefighters loose in the upcoming arbitration. If they don't loose? Prepare for the worst. No fire union in the valley will ever give in again, period. And you will have the most overpaid firefighters in the country for ever, and ever, and ever. And you can thank your politicians for that.
They didn't just build the new prison today. It was planned and took a year to build. My question then is, Why didn't they let these people know in advance that they were going to be laid off? These 53 people could have applied at the new prison, where they just hired 250. That would have certainly helped to have MORE than half of the jobs for Nevada residents.
@misterright:
It MAY actually BE cheaper in Phoenix to house an inmate. However, according to a quick internet search, the average cost per day per inmate, in America, can be anywhere from $55 to $129, depending on the security level of the inmate. Even within the single state of Florida it can range from $45 to $100 a day. Obviously, US Marshall inmates, accused of committing Federal Crimes (felonies?) require a greater level of security, stereotypically have more health problems (medical costs), and those housed in North Las Vegas are actively being transported to court and back. All of these things increase the cost of housing an inmate.