Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

How Clark County’s jail deficit tripled in three years

Clark County Detention Center Tour

Steve Marcus

A corrections officer fills out out a log after visually checking on an inmate in a special housing area during a tour of the Clark County Detention Center Tuesday, July 23, 2013.

Clark County Detention Center Renovation

A look at new administration offices, still under construction, at the Clark County Detention Center, Friday Oct. 3, 2014. Launch slideshow »

Even as Las Vegas police booked fewer people into the city’s downtown jail, the facility’s costs ballooned into a deficit that nearly tripled in the past three years.

When the demand for services at the Clark County Detention Center seems to be falling, how can the cost to deliver those services be on the rise?

The reasons behind the financial crisis are complicated and varied.

Officials point to overcrowding - inmates are staying behind bars longer than before. A renovation at the facility’s crumbling north tower is also driving overtime costs because more employees are working to move the inmates around construction sites. And there are complications in the courts that affect the jail.

“It’s a mess,” Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly said during a Nov. 18 meeting before the commission. The jail is in his district. “We need to prioritize.”

The problem is far-reaching and goes beyond jail operations. Officials say the crisis is among the three biggest financial woes plaguing Clark County - the other two deal with University Medical Center and Metro Police, which oversees CCDC.

“Between Metro (Police) and the Clark County Detention Center, there’s nothing we spend on services that even comes close,” Clark County Manager Don Burnette said. “When even small changes happen in those budgets, it impacts our ability to fund other areas.”

•••

THE JAIL’S BUDGET

The revenue: The jail's annual operating budget is $184 million in the 2014-15 budget year. About 98 percent comes from the Clark County general fund. The remainder comes from collect calls inmates make, house arrest fees and civil fees.

The expenses: The jail's biggest expense is its people. Metro’s detention division spends $131 million, or 71 percent, of its annual budget on salaries and benefits for personnel that primarily includes corrections officers and administrative staff.

According to a Las Vegas Sun survey of 2013 data from the Nevada Policy Research Institute, a right-leaning think tank, Clark County’s corrections officers earn an average of $108,000 in annual base salary and benefits. In addition, they also rack up about $9,300 in overtime.

By comparison, Metro Police officers earn an average of $109,000 in total compensation and make an additional $2,800 in overtime.

The deficit: The jail today faces a projected $28 million deficit. By contrast, it had a $31 million surplus in 2008.

The history: Since 2008, the jail's revenue has dropped by 5 percent and its expenses have spiked 27 percent.

The future: The 2015-16 budget deficit is projected to be $34 million.

•••

THE REASONS

Court delays: Inmates are staying behind bars longer than before. Since September 2011, the average length of stay has gone up 38 percent to 22 days. Metro Deputy Chief Todd Fasulo, who oversees the jail, says each day behind bars costs $135 - that covers food, housing, medical care, staffing and transportation.

Most of the jail's inmates are awaiting trial in Clark County District Court. Inmates who are convicted and sentenced are typically transferred to a state prison. But before they can be sentenced, inmates need to be evaluated by the state's parole and probation division.

The recession caused layoffs at that division in the late 2000s, which then prompted delays for those evaluations. That caused inmates to languish at the jail.

The parole and probation division has since filled those vacancies and it has caught up on its paperwork backlog. But the bevy of evaluations has piled up at the Clark County courthouse, where judges are doling out sentences as quickly as they can.

“The delays had a ripple effect,” District Judge David Barker said.

Overcrowding: While the downtown jail is only equipped to handle 3,800 inmates , it’s actually housing closer to 4,100. To make room, the jail transfers inmates to other valley facilities, including the Henderson and Las Vegas municipal detention centers.

“This creates significant challenges,” Metro Deputy Chief Todd Fasulo said during an October meeting before the Clark County Commission, citing a sharp uptick in overtime costs as detention officers are summoned to help transport the inmates. In 2008, the jail paid less than $6 million in overtime. That figure jumped past $10 million in 2014.

“A lot of things that affect our budget are out of our control. We need to man all posts for the safety of our officers and inmates.”

Construction: Metro is in the middle of a $112-million renovation project on a major wing of its downtown jail. Known as the north tower, the 12-story building was initially built in 1980 for 871 inmates, but today it has 1,487 beds. Before the construction project began, inmate totals sometimes peaked at 1,700. The construction project has taken some floors and cells offline. That means the jail has had to expand staff hours to move inmates around to accommodate construction crews. Metro is temporarily housing inmates at its North Valley Complex and had to hire part-time employees to staff the facility. Since the construction project began January 2012, the jail’s annual overtime costs have grown by $13 million.

•••

BEYOND THE RISING COSTS

Metro built its North Valley Complex in 2009 but it has never put it to full use because it can’t afford to staff more personnel. The estimated cost of fully staffing 120 positions at the North Valley Complex is $23.2 million. It currently only staffs 36 permanent positions.

•••

HOW OFFICIALS ARE TRYING TO FIX THE PROBLEM

Fasulo and Burnette are forming a panel of judges, prosecutors, public defenders, state officials and Metro leaders to pinpoint solutions.

They’ve told commissioners they plan to form the committee by late February.

Chart data provided by Las Vegas Metro Police Department.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy