Sentinel Northglenn 4/25/13
Northglenn -Thornton
April 25, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ournorthglennnews.com, ourthorntonnews.com
Adams County, Colorado • Volume 49, Issue 37
County redraws districts
OVER THE TOP
Three options for new commissioner districts to be considered by residents By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com
Mountain Range’s Alexander Dooley competes in the pole vault during the Maxine Ehrman Invitational April 20 at the 5 Star North Stadium. See Sports Page 22 Photo by Jonathan Maness
Cities urged to keep cap levels Cap limit for jail inmates lifted, but capacity the same says sheriff By Darin Moriki
dmoriki@ourcoloradonews.com The municipal jail cap that restricted the number of inmates that could be sent to the Adams County jail may be lifted, but Sheriff Doug Darr said it may be at least another year before city officials can begin to send more inmates. “We have been operating in an unreasonable environment for some time now, and we have a responsibility to fix that,” Darr said. “I’m not trying to be difficult for anyone, but I do intend to make sure that it is a relatively safe environment for people who work and live there.” The jail cap, which was repealed by the Adams County commissioners during their April 15 public meeting, previously stood at 30 and were divided among nine municipalities based upon population. The inmate cap, set by Darr, was: Thornton, eight; Westminster, five; Aurora and Commerce City, four a piece;
POSTAL ADDRESS
Northglenn and Brighton, three each; and one each for Federal Heights, Arvada and Bennett. “I would say that removing the municipal cap is the fair thing to do and helps maintain the good partnership we have had with our Adams County partners,” District 3 Commissioner Erik Hansen said in a text message following the jail cap’s repeal. Darr said the repeal, however, does not necessarily solve the past budget cuts and staffing losses due to attrition and military deployments— two key factors that, he said, ultimately led to the jail cap’s creation by the sitting Board of County Commissioners more than a year ago. County Administrator Jim Robinson said the sheriff’s office has been authorized to hire 13 deputies to fill jail positions that are or will become vacant in the coming months by using vacancy savings that were built into this year’s budget. Darr, however, said the initial approval for the hires came in October 2012 after his department was required to submit its budget in August 2012. To address this issue, Darr said he submitted a $567,000 to $568,000 supplemental budget request to make the funds available for the second-half of this year, which would be used to train, outfit and compensate the hired deputies. Those positions, he said, are only intended to ensure that the two housing units
open right now operate at a safe level. Darr said the sheriff’s office is currently in the process of selecting new deputies, who must then undergo 22 weeks of academy training and an additional 11 to 18 weeks of field and officer training based upon their progress and assignments. In all, Darr said it will take at least another year before newly hired deputies can begin their new assignments. “The commissioners intended to allow municipal prisoners to come into the jail, and I’m supportive of that. I don’t have a problem with that at all particularly when it comes to those more serious offenders,” Darr said. “I didn’t cause these problems out here, I didn’t cut the budget and the staffing, I didn’t create the hiring restrictions, and I didn’t create the daily per diem fee. It was all done by somebody else but I found myself having to deal with the consequences of all of it, and the consequences are going to carry on for a while until such time that we can be better staffed.” Darr said part of those consequences will be asking cities to continue sending inmates to the jail based upon prior capped levels until additional staffing is available. The jail cap, he acknowledged, has caused some ire among city officials, but Darr said he cannot and will not open any more housing units in the jail until adequate staffing is available.
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Adams County officials are seeking public input in an effort to guide the redefinition of the county’s commissioner districts following the passage of a voter-approved measure that will increase the number of sitting commissioners from three to five. The measure, which would add another two members to the Adams County Commissioners board by 2016, was approved by 57.34 percent of county voters in the 2012 general election, according to the Adams County Clerk and Recorder’s website. In the second part of the ballot question, which prompted voters to determine how Adams County commissioners should be elected, the option to have five at-large commissioners elected by county residents was approved by 57.5 percent of county voters. In all, County Planning Director Abel Montoya said the county has formulated a total of three redistricting map options for residents to consider during four public meetings that will be held in unincorporated Adams County, Commerce City, Thornton and Bennett. The comments, Montoya said, will then be gathered by county staff and shared with the commissioners during two public meetings that will be held at the Adams County Government Center in Brighton. After considering the public’s input, the final map will be selected by the commissioners on June 26. One of the map options, Montoya said, follows the block level for county precincts as closely as possible, while another mirrors the state House district maps that were affirmed by the state Supreme Court in 2011. The third option, he said, tries to use historical patterns as well as past blocklevel precincts and state House district data. “Two of the maps follow the U.S. Census Bureau data from 2010 down to the block level and that’s the most precise you can get, and one of the maps does not follow block level but rather follows a greater level of information as far as size,” Montoya said. In all, three commissioner seats will be up for election or re-election in 2014. One of those seats, Montoya said, will be for a two-year term instead of the customary four-year term to comply with state statues that require the terms for
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Districts continues on Page 20
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