NLV council OKs contract for inmates to serve sentences in Lincoln County jail
Long-term inmates from North Las Vegas will be shipped more than 170 miles north to serve their sentences at the jail in Lincoln County by early next year.
With no discussion, the North Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday night unanimously approved a jail-sharing contract that calls for housing inmates sentenced for various misdemeanors at the Lincoln County Detention Center.
Lincoln County’s Board of Commissioners signed off on the three-year deal Monday.
Under the agreement, North Las Vegas will pay $75 daily for each inmate to cover costs for housing, transportation and staffing, Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee said.
Female inmates from North Las Vegas could be the first sent to Lincoln County’s jail shortly after the new year, gradually increasing up to roughly 65 daily inmates by spring, Lee said. If needed, the Lincoln County jail could house up to 95 inmates coming in from North Las Vegas.
Lincoln County Detention Center has 125 beds, but only about a dozen of the inmates are locals.
“Lincoln County built this jail with the thought that we would house outside inmates,” Lee said. “We contacted North Las Vegas and thought we could help them with a better price than what they were paying to the city of Las Vegas. That, in turn, helps Lincoln County.”
North Las Vegas was in the midst of a budget crisis in 2012 when city officials struck a deal to send inmates to the Las Vegas Detention Center. North Las Vegas saved several million dollars by closing the city’s detention center and laying off 85 jail staffers.
Earlier this year, the City Council approved a revised jail-sharing agreement with the city of Las Vegas, aimed at saving $3.5 million by laying off up to 21 detention officers and seven supervisors who keep an eye on North Las Vegas inmates. Some savings will go toward hiring about a half-dozen marshals charged with transporting inmates to the jails in Las Vegas and Lincoln County, city officials said.
Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Find @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.
