Cochise supervisors vote to continue jail district pending November vote after contentious public hearing

Cochise County supervisors voted 3-0 Aug. 5 to adopt a resolution to continue the county's existing jail district until voters decide an excise tax in a Nov. 4 election. The board held a public hearing earlier in the meeting to take public comment before the motion.

The public hearing focused on whether the jail district should remain in effect while the board places an excise tax before voters. "Today, we have the public hearing on to order the continued establishment of the Cochise County Jail District pursuant to ARS 48 4001," said Miss Gilman during the staff presentation. She told the board the action follows prior litigation and a May 2023 election that fully established the district.

The nut of the matter, supervisors said, is procedural: because a court settlement and opinion did not explicitly dissolve the 2023-established district, the district remains in place and the board must act to continue it pending the November vote. "Technically, the jail district as it was established in '23 still exists. So that's all this is," the chair said when explaining the motion and its limited scope.

Several residents told the board the resolution was unconstitutional and urged a vote against it. Daniel LaChance said the measure was unlawful and urged supervisors to reject it. "Vote no on this resolution. It is unconstitutional and therefore in violation of the supreme law of Arizona," LaChance said during public comment. Other speakers repeatedly requested certified copies of supervisors' Arizona bonds and cited provisions of the Arizona Constitution, including references to article 4 part 1, section 1, subparagraphs 5 and 8.

Supervisor Crosby acknowledged past disagreements over how the jail tax election was handled but said the board must follow the court's guidance. "We're stuck with what we got," he said, describing the current situation as a de facto status due to the court's settlement. Legal counsel confirmed that the settlement did not resolve the factual or legal status of the district.

The board's approved motion, titled in the printed agenda as resolution 25-24, orders the continued establishment of the Cochise County Jail District "contingent upon voter approval of an excise tax" in November. The board recorded the vote as "Motion passes 3 to 0." No individual roll-call votes by name were recorded in the meeting transcript.

The board and staff repeatedly described the action as narrowly limited and temporary: it keeps the district in place so the county can continue operations and so the sheriff's office can access resources, pending the outcome of the Nov. 4 ballot. Miss Gilman also confirmed the county stopped collecting the prior jail tax July 31.

Next steps: the resolution remains in effect only until the Nov. 4 election, when voters will decide whether to impose the excise tax that would fund the district. Residents who oppose the action signaled they may pursue legal challenges if they believe constitutional petition or signature requirements were not followed.

Ending note: the public hearing portion of the meeting included five public speakers on this topic and drew repeated constitutional objections from those speakers; the board emphasized the action is administrative and limited to maintaining the district for legal continuity until voters decide.