PHOENIX

Cost of Arpaio court monitor grows by $1.28M

Michael Kiefer
The Republic | azcentral.com
Sheriff Joe Arpaio

The monitor appointed by a U.S. District Court judge to make sure that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office complies with court orders is so far over budget for this year that the County Supervisors will vote Wednesday to add $1,275,000 to his contract.

Robert Warshaw and his firm were appointed in January 2014 by Judge G. Murray Snow to ensure that the Sheriff's Office followed his court order to stop racial profiling in traffic stops, investigate misconduct and to monitor inmate-detention issues and deputies' training and interactions with the public.  Warshaw issues quarterly reports to the court and the sheriff and the Board of Supervisors.

But seven months into the contract year, which began March 1, Warshaw's September billing put his team over the budgeted amount by $15,000. On Wednesday, according to its published agenda, the board will vote to increase his contract by $1,275,000 from $1,725,000 to $3,000,000 to finish out the contract year, which ends Feb. 11, 2016.

According to Deputy County Manager Sandi Wilson, the county was in the process of renegotiating Warshaw's contract in May because Snow had asked him to perform more duties than originally planned as more information about Sheriff's Office's actions came to light. Then the 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals ruled that the county was a defendant in the case and negotiations stopped. The contract then reverted automatically to the amount specified in the original contract.

"We knew it was going to be more," Wilson said. "We might see another increase."

Board Chairman Steve Chucri said that the board will further discuss the reasons for the overage in a closed executive session on Wednesday.

"As we go forward, we're looking not only at these dollars, but what do we foresee happening in the future," Chucri said.

Supervisor Steve Gallardo had harsher words.

"Maricopa County and the taxpayers should not be footing the bill on this," he said. "Unfortunately, the sheriff has put the county and the taxpayers in the position that we have to pay millions to this monitor."

The racial profiling case was filed in 2007 by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Manuel de Jesus Ortega Melendres, a Mexican tourist who was in the country legally, but was detained for nine hours as if he were an illegal immigrant.

In 2011, Snow ordered Sheriff Joe Arpaio to stop enforcing federal immigration law.

The case went to trial in 2012, and in October 2013, Snow ordered the Sheriff’s Office to cease its immigration-control operations, submit to oversight by the court monitor, and update its technology to include cameras and data collection.

Then, a year after the order, Snow ordered Arpaio back into court when he learned that Arpaio had continued with his immigration-enforcement policies for 18 months.

Arpaio and other sheriff's employees and administrators are currently in contempt hearings before Snow.

Arpaio's office did not immediately return calls for comment.