After failing to force the La Plata County Jail to accept municipal inmates with a court order, the city of Durango will manage people sentenced on municipal charges itself.
Durango City Council voted on Tuesday to dismiss lawsuits against the La Plata Board of County Commissioners and La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith that were filed in response to the county terminating an intergovernmental jail agreement in December.
City Council directed City Manager José Madrigal to begin operations for the city’s own holding cells for municipal inmates and to prepare a modified 911 agreement between the city and the county “that accurately compensates the city for its services,” as Mayor Jessika Buell said in a motion.
Durango Police Chief Brice Current, who attended an executive session with councilors, Madrigal and Assistant City Manager Bob Brammer, said the city currently has four holding cells. There are two jail cells at Durango Police Department’s downtown station on Main Avenue and two more at its substation in Three Springs.
He said the city must reassess its arrest protocols and consider new places to hold municipal inmates should the need arise. But the number of inmates it needs to house at any time depends on a number of factors, including a judge’s availability for hearings and what sentences are delivered in those hearings. The need to jail someone also depends on the crime committed, whether an offender is a first-time or repeat offender, how often he or she has committed offenses and the likelihood of him or her appearing in court.
Current said one certainty is it will cost the city money to house its own inmates, although he’s not yet sure how much the city will face in expenses.
“Our (jail) numbers were literally less than 1% and that 1% would generally get out the same day or the next day, so the percentage that was housed makes zero sense for the decisions that were made,” he said.
Madrigal said jailing municipal inmates is important to the city because it ensures offenders appear before the municipal court and receive the services they need.
He said he’s confident the city can accommodate municipal inmates with the four cells it has. As for costs, he said inmates must be monitored and cared for, and the city is developing a plan to carry out necessary care in adherence with state law.
City Council also tasked Madrigal with drafting a 911 service agreement between the city and the county ensuring the city is adequately compensated by administrative fees for its emergency dispatch services.
Madrigal said the city doesn’t currently have a 911 service agreement with the county. He put service fees at about $60,000 per month, although that needs to be assessed and is likely undervalued, and he expects that cost to increase by the time he presents City Council with a proposed agreement.
cburney@durangoherald.com
