EL PASO COUNTY — During a news conference on Friday, El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal called on the governor and state lawmakers to find a solution to an increasing backlog of sentenced inmates waiting to be transferred to state prisons.
Sheriff Roybal said the El Paso County Jail housed an average of 55 inmates awaiting transfer to the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) in January, which he called a reasonable number. In May, he said the average waitlist climbed to 106 inmates.
"That's coming out of our pockets and our tax dollars that we're covering the state," said Sheriff Roybal. "It's not only affecting El Paso County. This is affecting every single county that operates a jail here in Colorado."
The sheriff said the issue comes from recently reduced CDOC bed space. State lawmakers cut approximately 300 beds from the CDOC at the beginning of the year due to a billion-dollar budget shortfall.
State Senator Judy Amabile (D-Boulder), who serves on the Joint Budget Committee, told News5 the changes made to prison bed funding reflect "smart, data-driven adjustments" that eliminate "mostly vacant or duplicative beds while increasing resources where they’re actually needed."
Sheriff Roybal said, instead, counties are footing the bill for inmates who should be in the state's custody. He said Colorado law mandates El Paso County bill CDOC a rate of $77.16 per inmate per day. The sheriff said the actual daily cost to house each inmate at his jail is $143.18 per day.
"The state's not pulling their weight," said Sheriff Roybal. "At the very least they should pay us what it costs us to incarcerate their inmates."
The CDOC sent News5 a statement saying in part:
"Across the state, the financial cost of housing individuals in custody varies based on location, needs, and resources. CDOC acknowledges the challenges posed by gaps between reimbursement rates and actual expenses, emphasizing the need for collaborative strategies to address these fiscal demands effectively.
Despite recent state budget constraints impacting bed capacity, CDOC continues to explore strategies to manage intake more efficiently and reduce pressures on county facilities. Additionally, we remain committed to working with state officials and the legislature to explore long-term solutions that uphold public safety and fiscal responsibility."
Sheriff Roybal said he's rallying with sheriffs across the state to push legislators to find a solution before he has to cut costs in other areas of his office's budget.
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