To the Honorable Mayor Walkup and Members of the Tucson City Council:
I was initially engaged by members of the Mental Health Community regarding the potential cut of the Tucson Mental Health Court. I was forwarded and have attached a letter from City Magistrate Michael Lex for your review of this very effective program. It not only serves a population that is in need of much more than just punishment, it provides the citizens a safety net which would otherwise be ignored. Further, it saved the City of Tucson from significant jail costs associated with this process of imposing the appropriate process of the judicial system.
At the public hearing I expressed my very real concern regarding the cut backs to the City Prosecutor’s staffing. I expressed that this is as much a part of public safety as fire and police. You ignored my plea to abstain from cutting this part of the public safety budget and now the Chief Magistrate has ceased in referring mentally ill defendants to the Mental Health Court. I personally spoke to Judge Riojas regarding this concern for several reasons and he assured me he would not cut Mental Health Court. Well, apparently he has had to have a change of thoughts given the budget cuts to the City Prosecutor’s budget and this is going to end up costing the city more money with respect to jail costs, not to again mention the public’s safety. Please see the emails from Judge Riojas below and Capt. Greg Gearhart of the Pima County Sherriff’s Office, Pima County Jail regarding Mental Health Court and jail time.
This isn’t the only area affected by cutting the City Prosecutor’s budget. It will negatively affect Public Safety by reducing or eliminating prosecution of neighborhood and criminal traffic violations. It will further the recycling of defendants through a system understaffed and overworked to protect the citizens of this community. Again, this area is as much a part of public safety as police and fire and I urge you to reconsider this issue and apply the appropriate funds necessary to protect the citizens of Tucson and Pima County. This will inevitably negatively impact the budget, not only in a financial respect but potentially at the expense of someone’s life. Please note that the budget cuts submitted were approximately $350,000 for fiscal year 2010 and $550,000 for fiscal year 2011. This detail was submitted by the City Attorney, Mike Rankin under the City Attorney’s detail.
I also noted in my discussion that a safe environment is important to businesses as well as neighborhoods. If businesses close early or leave an unsafe environment the City will further recognize reduced sales tax revenues. Please note the improvement in the Miracle Mile area as an example of good policing and neighborhood involvement. No one wants to do business in an unsafe environment and if people know they won’t be prosecuted for certain crimes you rest assured they will capitalize on the opportunities to commit more crimes.
To rectify this matter one of the supporting Members of Council of the City Manager’s recommendations for cuts, Council Members Fimbres, Scott and Uhlich would need to bring back for consideration. Further I request that this be done as soon as possible. I Thank you for your attention to this important matter and I look forward to your timely response.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rick
PS: On a personal note: I spent seven years working with persons with disabilities and mental health issues. I have also served on the Crime Victim’s Compensation Board, the Crime Victim Assistance League, The City of Tucson’s Police Advisory Review Board and supported public safety issues, including 88-Crime and Parents of Murdered Children for 20 years. I not only write to you as a concerned citizen, but also as a well informed person who understands a much bigger picture of this issue.
Tony Riojas 1/7/2010 3:32 PM >>>
> I have been informed by Laura Brynwood, that effective next month, the City Attorney will no longer be able to provide a prosecutor for Mental Health Court. We are looking at ways to be able to allow Ms. Brynwood to provide a prosecutor but, until a solution is found I am ordering, effective today, that no further cases be assigned to the Mental Health Court. Laura has been placed in this position because of necessary budget cuts and realizes that MH Court is a valuable program would very much like to continue support for this program but, the current economic situation leaves her with no choice. If there is a change in circumstances, I will let everyone know.
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Sir,
Per our previous conversation the following information is supplied to you per your request:
Per diem $198.65 first day of incarceration
$76.17 every subsequent day after the first day.
It was difficult to track clients of CPSA Court but our best guess is the average stay for an individual after court is 2.12 days. Previously it is estimated that the stay was in excess of 10 days.
I hope this information is helpful to you.
Capt. Greg Gearhart
Security Support Division Commander
PCADC