The city of Durango has filed a second lawsuit over its jail dispute with La Plata County and Sheriff Sean Smith, this time naming county commissioners Clyde Church, Marsha Porter-Norton and Matt Salka as defendants.
The 41-page lawsuit, which includes letters, emails and draft IGA’s between the city and the county, argues the Board of County Commissioners’ decision to terminate a 30-year intergovernmental jail agreement with the city and to refuse municipal inmates from the La Plata County Jail are “arbitrary and unreasonable.” It also argues a new draft IGA proposed by the county shifts duties for maintaining the jail onto the city.
The city is seeking declaratory judgments against the Board of County Commissioners.
Specifically, it seeks findings that:
- County commissioners violated the terms of the previous jail IGA by terminating it arbitrarily because it “no longer serves the County’s interests,” which it lacks authority to do.
- A state statute does not allow commissioners to deny municipal inmates from the jail.
- Commissioners cannot impose duties for maintaining the jail onto the city.
City Attorney Mark Morgan said the county, in negotiations for a new IGA, is trying to force liability and administrative responsibilities statutorily assigned to the county onto the city.
A 10-page draft IGA proposed by the county in October outlines terms and conditions for 17 items, including care and custody of prisoners; how “bed space days” are calculated; and the jail’s right to refuse city prisoners based on factors such as criminal history, medical condition, mental health issues and behavioral issues.
Two items in the draft IGA would release the county from liability for all costs associated with legal proceedings initiated by city prisoners or related to jail services, barring gross negligence and misconduct by the county; and an agreement by the city not to pursue legal action against the county barring negligence and misconduct, even if the agreement is terminated.
Other items touch on daily incarceration rates and charges, medical emergencies, custodianship of records, transportation issues, billings and payments, and insurance.
The city returned an eight-page draft IGA to the county on Dec. 18 with proposed revisions. For example, the county’s stipulation that the jail be given the right to refuse prisoners was revised to apply only when jail capacity is reached and when prisoners need immediate medical attention.
Negotiations between the city and the county for a new mutually agreeable IGA have gone nowhere since Durango City Council voted on Jan. 7 to take the matter to court.
County Manager Chuck Stevens said the county remains open to negotiating a new jail IGA with the city.
Morgan said negotiations have stopped for now.
Sixth Judicial District Judge Suzanne Carlson ruled against the city’s preliminary injunction in its lawsuit against the sheriff on Wednesday. But the lawsuit against the county commissioners could reopen negotiations, he said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
