La Plata and Archuleta county officials hope they will reach an agreement over housing Archuleta County inmates in the La Plata County jail.
A storm in April flooded the Archuleta County jail, forcing the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office to bus inmates to La Plata County. What was supposed to be a brief arrangement has become a long-term arrangement.
La Plata commissioners are working on an intergovernmental agreement with Archuleta that would allow the county to recoup costs associated with housing Archuleta’s inmates. Archuleta County officials will meet on Thursday in Durango with La Plata County officials to hammer out the agreement’s final details.
The sticking point is what to do with inmates once they are released from the La Plata County jail. La Plata County officials worry about a criminal population hanging around the county.
“What we’re concerned about is what happens to those folks when they’re released from jail,” said La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt. “It is La Plata County’s wish to have Archuleta County transport those individuals back.”
Archuleta County Attorney Todd Starr said he is sympathetic to La Plata County’s wishes, but he pointed out that there are civil-rights issues at stake.
“When a defendant serves (his or her) sentence and then is released from the La Plata County jail, my sheriff can’t pick them up, put them in shackles and put them in the back of a sheriff’s car and drive them back to Archuleta County or we would be violating their civil rights,” Starr said. “That means we have to find some alternate means of transportation.”
He added, however, that he is optimistic a solution can be found, highlighting that La Plata County came to Archuleta County’s rescue.
The draft intergovernmental agreement currently calls for Archuleta to reimburse La Plata at the same daily rate that the Colorado Department of Corrections pays La Plata County for housing inmates, which is currently set at $53.64. That would adjust each year if the state’s rate changes.
La Plata County commissioners met Tuesday in a closed-door executive session to discuss changes to the proposed agreement. Commissioners are expected to make a formal decision on the proposal Tuesday.
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
