Sheriff Requesting Millions To Staff New Jail

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors is slated next week to take up a request by Riverside County Sheriff Stan Sniff for up to $7 million in additional funding to staff the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, the first half of which is nearing completion.

According to the Executive Office, the sheriff needs the money to pay for about 70 positions that have yet to be filled.

It's the first major contingency appropriation that the board would make in the 2017-18 fiscal year, but with only a limited number of personnel available to transfer over from the existing Indio Jail, the allocation appears unavoidable, Executive Office staff said.

They noted that the first phase of the new detention center will be completed this summer, making 388 jail beds available.

"Due to the size and design of the Benoit Detention Center, additional positions are needed to provide a safe and secure environment for the staff and inmates housed within the facility," according to a statement posted to the board's policy agenda.

The $333 million jail has been under construction since mid-2015, after repeated delays stemming from county budgetary challenges and state- mandated reviews.

The design calls for a 1,600-bed facility to be built out in several phases. County officials said money isn't available to open the detention center in its entirety, at one time.

The existing Indio Jail contains 353 inmate beds. It will be razed after the Benoit Detention Center, touted as a technological marvel, becomes fully operational.

Along with correctional personnel, cooks, custodians, dieticians, accountants and medical professionals will be needed to staff the new facility, to be situated at Oasis Street and Highway 111.

According to the Executive Office, the county is effectively under a hiring freeze to help address a structural budget deficit that has plagued the books for years. Most of the gap is attributed collectively to public safety agencies, though a sizable share is also associated with the Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley.

Staff are forecasting a composite $24 million deficit at the end of the current fiscal year.

County reserves now stand at $155 million. However, according to the Executive Office, if the outgo continues at the current pace, and the county is saddled with an increasing number of state-mandated costs for social services, reserves could be whittled down to $8 million by fiscal year 2020-21.

The supervisors generally agree that a depletion of that magnitude is unacceptable because of the impact to the county's credit rating, and therefore, borrowing capacity. What's more, it would erode the board's ability to cover emergency expenses as when they arise.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock