Otero County Commission rejects bid from CSG to run detention center
ALAMOGORDO - The Otero County Commission on Jan. 12 declined to approve a bid by Correctional Solutions Group to manage the county's detention center.
CSG was the only entity to respond to a request for proposals issued by the county Dec. 6, 2022, amid a "crisis" at the facility caused by a staff shortage, forcing the relocation of its inmates to other New Mexico and Texas county jails.
The evaluation committee on the bid recommended the commission not approve. The Alamogordo Daily News has asked Otero County in a record request for details about the bid — including the cost cited by CSG.
Otero County Manager Pamela Heltner, who was also a member of the evaluation committee, said there were several reasons the bid did not get a nod from the committee. Among them was the "substantial increase to the budget" the contract would have caused.
Heltner said the bid from CSG would have also required the county to front funds to train staff at the facility, access to county vehicles and requirements for transportation of inmates by the Otero County Sheriff's Office.
"A red flag for me — I think for the whole board — they (CSG) listed a reference in there as managing one of the other county's facility in the state," Heltner said. She said when she checked that reference, she was unable to confirm the company's claims.
CSG, a Texas-based company, manages four locations throughout the U.S. including the Lincoln County Detention Center in Carrizozo, New Mexico, according to the company website. CSG founders are John R. Forren, MHA, president and chief executive officer, Martin Rickler, MA, Ph.D., senior vice president and David L. Stanfield, chief operating officer.
"We feel like our bid was fair and equitable," said Stanfield.
Stanfield said the bid was constructed to reflect the cost of properly staffing the facility to ensure "a secure environment for staff and the inmates" with attractive wages for applicants.
He said the bid included "good will" gestures like a fixed rate and a "true up" mechanism which in some instances would reimburse the county for costs budgeted but not accrued.
"I'm really proud of our industry and what we do," Stanfield said. "I know what we do, we try to do correctly."
CSG and Lincoln County
The Alamogordo Daily News was able to confirm that CSG still manages the Lincoln County Detention Center. It is unclear whether Lincoln County was the county referenced on the bid or contacted by Heltner.
CSG was also the only company to bid in a request for proposals in 2019 by Lincoln County to run its detention center.
Lincoln's detention center was previously run by LaSalle Corrections, also a Texas-based company. But LaSalle in April 2019 triggered a 90-day termination clause in its five-year contract that began in 2017 with the County.
CSG's contract with Lincoln County, formally approved in January 2020, included a 17% administration fee, a 50-50 split with the county on revenue generated and a 3% annual increase.
As Ruidoso News reported at the time of the contract's institution, jail operations were 41% of the county's budget, costing the county about $105 a day per inmate, or around $37,837 per year per inmate.
The Alamogordo Daily News reached out to Lincoln County Manager Ira Pearson for comment on the issue but was unable to reach him.
Otero County Detention Center improves staffing numbers
Heltner told Otero County Commissioners that hearing about work to improve staffing at the detention center might lessen the need to seek a contractor to manage the facility.
Interim Director of Otero County Detention Center Nina Sisler, in a report before the Otero County Commission Jan. 12, said the facility had three new staffing hires, and was working to fill additional open positions.
Sisler said the facility was currently housing only 100 of its 174 inmates. Twenty-three were being held at another facility in Otero County, 13 at the Doña Ana's County Detention Center in Las Cruces and 15 at a detention center in Hudspeth County in Texas. Additional inmates were either out on furlough or residing at treatment and mental health facilities.
When asked by Commissioner Gerald Matherly if staff and inmates would occupy areas of the facility recently updated, Sisler said the still-low staffing numbers meant likely not.
Trent Parker, project manager, said the update of the Otero County Detention Center was "wrapping up" with some additional work needed on electrical.
Jessica Onsurez can be reached at jonsurez@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JussGREAT.
This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: Otero County Commission rejects bid from CSG to run detention center
