Thread: Arizona Sheriff Provides Model Spending Plan

Arizona Sheriff Provides Model Spending Plan


By JON BUSH Guest Columnist

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 28, 2008

Some people may not be aware of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, from Maricopa County, Arizona. He is a unique individual who has saved the taxpayers of Maricopa County thousands of dollars a year through his cost saving programs.

Sheriff Arpaio has over 10,000 inmates in his jail system. He started the nation's largest Tent City for convicted inmates - no air conditioning. This is a big taxpayer saving in itself. When inmates complained about the heat in the tents, which reaches 138 degrees at times, he told them "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents, too, and they have to wear full battle gear, but they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths!"

Also impressive are the sheriff's "get tough" policies. For example, he banned smoking (this has already been done in the Highlands Country Jail system,) coffee, movies, pornographic magazines, no weight lifting and unrestricted TV in all jails.

The only TV channels inmates can watch are the Disney Channel and the Weather Channel. When asked why the Weather Channel, he replied, "So they will know how hot it's going to be while they are working on my chain gangs."

He bought Newt Gingrich's lecture series on videotape that he pipes into the jails. Asked if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a Democrat lecture series might explain why a lot of the inmates were in his jails in the first place. He has the cheapest meals in the country; the average meal costs 15 cents, and inmates are fed twice a day to cut cost of meal delivery. He even stopped serving them salt and pepper to save taxpayers $20,000 a year.

Another program Arpaio is well known for is the pink underwear all inmates wear. Years ago, when the sheriff learned the inmates were stealing the jail's white boxers, Arpaio had all underwear dyed pink for better inventory control. The same is true for the sheriff's handcuffs. When they started disappearing, he ordered pink handcuffs as a replacement, and later when the sheriff saw the calming psychological effect of the color pink, sheets, towels, socks, everything the inmates wear - except for the old fashioned black and white striped uniform - were dyed pink.

Sheriff Arpaio also has a chain gang for men and women. Think about it county commissioners. Look at all the free labor just sitting on their rear ends day after day.

Sheriff Arpaio also has a M.A.S.H. unit, not for wounded inmates or medical care for them. It is a no kill animal shelter. It is located in a 30-year-old jail that is unsuitable for housing inmates. The jail looks like paradise to the four-footed victims of animal cruelty and the unwanted pets.

Some critics have said it is inhumane to put cats and dogs in air conditioning when inmates don't have air conditioning. A good answer came from one of the inmates assigned to care for the dogs; yes, inmates volunteer to train and take care of the animals brought into the shelter. The inmate's reply was "They didn't do anything wrong, I did."

The animal shelters are all staffed by inmates. They feed and care for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily. He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They give classes to anyone who'd like to adopt an animal. The best part, his budget is under $3 million for the whole department, down from $18 million two years ago. The inmates get the benefit of about 28 cents an hour for working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the day. He pays the prisoners out of the fees he collects for adopted animals.

I'm sure there are inmates at the Highlands County Jail that could lend a hand at the Highlands County Animal Control and save taxpayers thousands of dollars a year. Darryl Scott is working on a small budget while the sheriff's office wants to spend money this county's taxpayers are unwilling to spend.

Sheriff Arpaio didn't build a new facility for all this. He used what he had and saved the taxpayers thousands upon thousands of dollars a year. Why do we have a tax-and- spend sheriff who wants a new administrative building she won't even be able to move into? The taxpayers of Highlands County have to cut back on their spending. I see no reason for a new administrative building that costs $11.1 million.

Jon Bush lives in Sebring.
http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/ ... ding-plan/

This guy ROCKS!!!!