Cochise County Jail District board retains counsel in election lawsuit, approves health contract rate change; residents urge sales tax and Bisbee site

BISBEE, Ariz. — The Cochise County Jail District Board on Feb. 11 voted to retain outside legal counsel to represent the jail district in ongoing litigation and approved a contract amendment to revise detention-health rates for fiscal year 2025, while residents urged the board to honor voters' funding choice and keep the new jail in Bisbee.

The board voted 3-0 to retain outside counsel to represent the jail district in Daniel LaChance et al v. Cochise County (CV24-0150-PR). The motion to retain counsel was brought before the jail district board during the meeting and passed unanimously. The board also approved Amendment No. 7 to contract YH16-0018-13, an intergovernmental agreement with the Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) that revises payment rates for state fiscal year 2025; that motion passed 3-0 as well. Earlier the board approved the consent agenda, including demands and budget amendments and operating transfers, by a 3-0 vote.

Why it matters: the legal-retention vote formalizes defense for the jail district as a named party in litigation arising from the recent election that created the jail district; the AHCCCS amendment affects the county's detention-health billing rates and county detention-health budgeting for the year. Both actions relate to the county's multi-year effort to plan and build a replacement jail funded by a voter-approved, time-limited sales tax and by maintenance-of-effort money from the general fund.

On the legal-retention vote, the board approved hiring outside counsel described in the meeting as Timothy Lasota to represent the jail district in addition to previously retained counsel for the Board of Supervisors. The motion passed 3-0. The jail district meeting record shows the case caption and internal file number as Daniel LaChance et al versus Cochise County et al, CV24-0150-PR.

During discussion of financial items and the consent agenda, county staff clarified how invoices and fund lines are handled for jail-district planning. County staff member Miss Gilman explained that some bills for planning — including the CHIN planning invoices referenced in the demands — are routed through the Board of Supervisors' department for approval, but the underlying fund line is the jail district fund. Gilman said items labeled operations and maintenance, medical services, mental health and support care of persons are funded by the county's maintenance-of-effort (MOE) general-fund appropriation rather than the jail-tax receipts.

The board then heard from two residents during the public-comment period. Joanne Gasper, who said she lives in Hereford and owns property in Sierra Vista, told the board that voters approved a time-limited sales tax to fund planning, construction and staffing of a new jail and urged supervisors to follow that funding mechanism rather than shifting costs to property taxes. "There are only two ways that you can pay for a jail district in Cochise County, and that's through a sales tax... or a property tax," Gasper said, adding that going the property-tax route could "raise our taxes 30 to 40%" (comment attributed to the speaker as stated at the meeting). She also warned that federal oversight could follow if the county fails to address current jail conditions.

Tamara Birch, who identified herself as a Don Luis precinct committee person, urged the board to keep the jail site in Bisbee, citing proximity to the courthouse, hospitals and sheriff's staff. "The new facility should remain here in our county seat," Birch said, adding that keeping the location local would be "cost efficient" and that the county should not shift money from small rural communities' general funds to pay for the jail.

Detention-Health Services Director Miss Kennedy described Amendment No. 7 to the AHCCCS agreement as a routine rate revision for SFY2025. Kennedy said the IGA, first executed in 2012, allows health access for incarcerated people to be suspended rather than terminated during incarceration so that access resumes immediately upon release, supporting continuity of care and community reentry. Kennedy told the board that since 2012 the IGA has saved the county "hundreds of thousands of dollars" annually and that the approximate increase for the current fiscal year is about $0.10 per claim.

Board-level procedure and next steps: the board removed one agenda item from today's meeting for a future work session; the jail district meeting was adjourned and the Board of Supervisors regular meeting followed in the same hearing room. No additional public hearings or final site-selection decisions were made at this meeting; supervisors said site selection and related planning would be addressed in future open meetings.

Votes at a glance: - Consent agenda (items 1 and 2: demands and budget amendments/operating transfers): motion to approve passed 3-0. - Retention of legal counsel to represent Cochise County Jail District in Daniel LaChance et al v. Cochise County (CV24-0150-PR): motion to approve passed 3-0. - Amendment No. 7 to contract YH16-0018-13 (IGA with Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System revising SFY2025 rates): motion to approve passed 3-0.

The cochise jail district board meeting was adjourned on Feb. 11; the next regular Board of Supervisors meeting was scheduled to follow immediately in the same hearing room.