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Graham County extends inmate work contract; board notes staffing and pay limits
Summary
The board approved a five-year extension of inmate work contract 25-013-030. County manager Dustin Welker described staffing shortages on inmate crews and said state statute appears to cap inmate pay increases; the county will continue local discussions with the Department of Corrections.
The Graham County Board of Supervisors voted March 17 to approve an extension of the county's inmate work contract (contract 25-013-030), preserving the county's existing arrangement for inmate crews for an additional five-year period.
County Manager Dustin Welker told the board the extension keeps the county's contract in place while staff pursue more inmates for work crews and attempt to increase pay. Welker said the county previously had 10 to 15 inmates on crews but is currently averaging about three and has sought to raise compensation to attract more participants. He said "the statute appears to let us pay up to $1.50 an hour" and that current pay is $0.50 an hour; he added the county asked to increase pay and was denied but will continue local discussions with the Safford office of the Department of Corrections.
Welker said maintaining the contract keeps a foot in the door should the county want inmates for highway crews in the future, though low crew participation has made some assignments impractical.
A board member moved to approve the contract extension; another seconded the motion and the board approved it by voice vote. No roll-call tally was recorded in the public transcript.
The board and staff said they will continue working with the Department of Corrections and local offices to try to increase inmate participation and investigate possible amendments.
