The cost of incarcerating Mojave County inmates increased 46.4% this year to more than $107 per day per inmate. And the county may not be charging municipalities enough for its services, according to some members of the county board.
The Mojave County Board of Supervisors was set to adopt new reservation and housing rates in county jails for the next fiscal year, but these proposed costs were bitter medicine for the board. Reservation fees and per diem payments are approved annually by the board of directors as an effort to offset approximately $16.36 million annually in county jail operating costs.
Reservation and incarceration fees at the county jail provide about $760,000 to cover the expected rise in costs over the next year, according to Mojave County supervisor Buster Johnson. said the newly proposed per diem incarceration and reservation rates would result in a deficit of $352,906 for the county.
“Inmate numbers have bounced back from numbers during the coronavirus pandemic,” Johnson said. “Prison per diem increases up 46.4%. Inmate reservation fees up 17.1% from $70, an increase of $11.98. Staff recommends Mojave County eat the difference …which will further strain Mojave County’s already strained finances.”
Johnson said the recent sales tax shelving in the cities of Lake Havasu, Kingman and Bullhead could justify asking more from those municipalities as incarceration and booking fees continue to rise. Said there was.
“Kingman sales tax collections hit a new record last year, $4.9 million more than in 2021. Bullhead City sales tax collections increased 5%, up $2 million from the previous year. Lake sales tax collections increased 10% to $3.5 million compared to 2022. There is no sales tax in this county…how can staff not only incur losses, but incur other losses as well? I’m curious if you would recommend covering the entities that are supposed to pay the actual costs – especially when you are having budget meetings.”
Mojave County Chief Financial Officer Luke Mounian addressed the issue at the county board of commissioners on Monday.
“There were many factors in[the county official’s]recommendation,” Mounian said. “Trying to maintain good relationships with the cities we work with is one of them. If that’s the case, there’s a limit to how many you can actually claim.
The county’s 2023 budget was drafted during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Mojave County Manager Sam Elters. Elters said that at the time the budget was drawn up, restrictions remained on who could be booked into the county jail. Is not …
“Since then, as you know, we have experienced situations that have actually exacerbated excessive inflation and (cost) increases … what we have chosen has been the phase We provided this solution knowing that next year the costs would increase even further.”
The Mojave County Board of Supervisors ultimately voted to continue further discussion of possible new rates of incarceration and reservations in county jails.
Mojave County Superintendent Hildy Angius said, “The city will contact me after this meeting and I’d like to spend some time with the city.
A potential decision on new per diem and reservation rates in prisons was scheduled to be discussed further at the board’s next meeting in Kingman on March 20.
