By Lindsey Collom | The Arizona Republic
It was supposed to be a win-win: Pinal County administrators needed to fund a jail expansion, and federal agencies needed a place to hold detainees.
In pitching a proposed partnership to supervisors in 2004, county officials said a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house immigration detainees would pay for itself, cover the debt from $62.1million in detention projects and spare taxpayers any expense.
But the contract county supervisors ultimately signed off on was a money-losing one, the effects of which have compounded over time. Pinal County has lost millions of dollars in potential revenue, according to a recent internal audit requested by the county manager.
Separately, the Internal Revenue Service is auditing the bond issue that funded Pinal County’s jail renovations. If the agency finds the county issued the bonds under false pretenses, it could levy steep fines and force the county to pay millions in back taxes.
