Sheriff Scales Back Request For Crisis Cash

Spokane County Sheriff John Goldman said Tuesday he can get by this year with only half a million dollars in emergency cash.

Meeting with county commissioners, Goldman backed down from his $1.1 million request for his department two weeks ago.

Instead, he’ll reduce overtime for deputies and sell two department helicopters. He also will delay next year’s massive purchase of canned goods for the jail and hopes to get a quarter-million dollars for housing outside prisoners.

Earlier this month, Goldman had threatened to release inmates early or not book them into jail at all. But Tuesday, he said, “We’re not willing to jeopardize the safety of our community by opening the doors.”

County Commissioner Steve Hasson complained afterward that law and justice officials come with their hands out every summer.

He suggested they learn to live within their budgets.

County commissioners have several tough choices to make Sept. 12: how much to give Goldman; whether to spend $160,000 on an innovative project to cheaply house juveniles in lieu of a new jail; and whether to give the Superior Court and public defender offices more money they claim they need to finish out the budget year.

Looking ahead, commissioners voted 3-0 Tuesday night to ask voters in November to raise the sales tax one-tenth of 1 percent.

While the move would place a small burden on residents and tourists, commissioners said it would raise about $4 million a year for juvenile and adult jail expansions.

Tom Davis, director of juvenile court services, was asked to wait three more weeks before learning if he’ll get his day confinement center.

He wants to renovate a basement garage into a giant classroom and staff it with two new officers - a cost this year of $160,000.

Youngsters would be educated and taught job skills by day and electronically monitored at home at night.

The commission’s delay until Sept. 12 could jeopardize $180,000 in federal grants over the next three years, however. The grants require the center be running by Sept. 4.

In an impassioned plea, Davis urged commissioners to approve the first program of its kind in Washington state.

He said the price tag is 5 percent of what a new facility would cost and that it would lower inmate costs from more than $100 a day to $35.

“I know you’re looking for creative solutions,” Davis told commissioners. “I think we’ve got a solution here.”

There currently is a waiting list for youthful offenders to get into the juvenile detention center. Many just thumb their noses at authorities, he said, knowing they may never serve a day behind bars.

“We have this damn waiting list,” Davis said. “That is a dangerous situation. It (a day confinement center) will allow us to hold kids accountable.”

The sheriff, meanwhile, said he continues searching for new ways to economize.

He has proposed double-bunking up to three jail wings and changing the staffing ratio from one officer per 46 inmates to one officer per 75.

But union head Bill Keenan said that would put officers in danger.

The jail already is crowded, he said, and has too many nooks and crannies where inmates can hide and pose a risk to officers.

“You as county commissioners can’t put any employees at risk to balance the budget,” Keenan said.

, DataTimes