Supervisors ponder funding options for Department of Alternative Sentencing

In an effort to increase funding for the city's Department of Alternative Sentencing, some Carson City supervisors suggested raising the price offenders pay for drug testing.

They now pay $40 a month for tests, though it doesn't always cover the expenses.

Test kits cost $16 each. Some people, however, need to take 10 or more tests each month, said Kevin Field, assistant chief of the department.

Mayor Marv Teixeira and Supervisor Pete Livermore suggested offenders might cover the cost for drug testing when it exceeds the regular $40 fee. Though a substantial number of the offenders are indigent, "they still manage to have money for drugs," Teixeira said.

Representatives from the department met with supervisors Thursday to discuss successes and concerns, including funding for salaries.

Eight employees, two of whom are part-time, monitor people awaiting trial, offenders ordered to perform community service and people serving probation sentences. The department also collects court-imposed fines and fees.

One of the officers is supported by a Violence Against Women Stop grant, but that funding ends next year. The department will be seeking money from the city to keep this employee when it submit its budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year.

In 2005, offenders completed nearly 28,000 of community service. Most people who are monitored are suspects or have committed domestic violence, drug or driving-while-intoxicated offenses, Field said.

Of the drug tests given by Alternative Sentencing employees, 623 were positive and 818 were negative in 2005. Progress is apparent in comparison to drug-test figures in 2003: 88 positive versus 76 negative.

Teixeira also suggested that offenders who have successfully completed their sentences might be of value to local employers, especially those who have special work skills.

"Our employee base is pathetic," he said. "I think you have something to offer here."

The Board of Supervisors created the department in 1996, after the 1995 Legislature allowed the county to have alternative sentencing for misdemeanor offenses. Carson City is the first county in Nevada to devote a department to the task.

Matthew Fisk, justice court administrator, told supervisors that it costs Carson City $75 to lock up one inmate for one day in jail.

An additional duty of the Department of Alternative Sentencing is to help keep peace in the jail. They decide which inmates to release when capacity becomes too high. The average daily population was 153 during 2005. When the number of inmates soars to 180, the least harmful people are released, Fisk said.

Other actions by the Board of Supervisors include:

-- Allowing reversion of map of 30 acres west of Carson River Road near Eagle Valley Middle School, also known as Hidden Meadows Estates Unit 3. It bought the land for use as permanent open space. The city intends to sell the land to the Bureau of Land Management.

-- Accepting a contract with Hydro Tech Inc. in Fernley to continue emergency storm drain cleaning related to New Year's weekend flooding around the city. The city will pay up to $225,000 for the company to do the work through March 31.

-- Approving additional money for planning specific jobs meant to refurbish and improve the Bob Boldrick Theater at the Carson City Community Center. Cost for work this year is expected to reach $545,000.

-- Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.