REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
April 29, 2025
FROM
SHANNON D. DICUS, Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator
SUBJECT
Title
Amendment to Contract with the United States Marshals Service for Housing and Transportation of Detainees
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve Amendment No. 18, effective January 1, 2024, to Revenue Contract No. 96-880 with the United States Marshals Service, including non-standard terms, for reimbursement of costs for housing and transportation of detainees, confirming increased per diem rates that will be in effect for five years, for the period of January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2028, as established by the Marshals Service’s Prisoner Operations Division for the existing Inter-Governmental Agreement No. 12-99-0035.
(Presenter: Dave Mascetti, Lieutenant, 387-0640)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The Sheriff/Coroner/Public Administrator (Department) will be reimbursed by the United States Marshals Service (USMS), at the newly established per diem rates listed in the table below, for the housing, medical care, and transportation of adult male and female federal detainees, housed at the County’s detention centers.
Costs for all food, clothing, medical, dental, and mental health care provided to federal detainees inside the County’s facility, as well as the cost of medical supplies, over-the-counter medications and any prescription medications routinely stocked will be covered by the federal per diem rate. Specialized medical services not routinely provided within the facility will be billed directly to the USMS. Sufficient appropriation and revenue are included in the Department’s 2024-25 budget. and will be included in future recommended budgets.
|
Rate Type |
Current Daily Per Diem Rate |
Updated Daily Per Diem Rate |
|
Housing |
$109.00 |
$158.00 |
|
Transportation-Hourly |
$ 48.00 |
$ 66.19 |
|
High-Acuity Medical Unit |
$715.00 |
$787.69 |
|
Mid-Acuity Medical Unit |
$365.00 |
$402.11 |
|
High Security |
$171.00 |
$188.38 |
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On September 17, 1996 (Item No. 25), the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved Contract No. 96-880 with the USMS establishing Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) No. 12-99-0035 for the County to provide housing and transportation of adult male and female federal detainees. The Board has subsequently approved amendments to the IGA with the two most recent being on August 7, 2018 (Item No. 25) in which the Board approved Amendment No. 16 that included new contract language and per diem rates established by the USMS for a period of five years effective February 1, 2018 through January 31, 2023; and the latest being Amendment No. 17 approved on June 23, 2020 (Item No. 84), which incorporated contract language for the monitoring of federal detainees during court hearings via video teleconferences with the federal judiciary in a case-by-case basis, with no changes to the existing per diem rates or the term of the contract.
Amendment No.18 recommends acceptance by the Board of the newly approved per diem rates. The current rates have been in place since February 1, 2018. In mid-2022, the Department submitted updated costs to the USMS with a request for increases to the per diem rates. Although the rates were valid for five years, because the Department was still negotiating with USMS, they agreed to maintain the same rates until a final agreement could be reached. After protracted negotiations about contract language, on March 25, 2025, the USMS notified the Department of the approved changes to the IGA, including the higher rates that are being recommended to the Board for acceptance at the earliest available meeting.
The new per diem rates will be in effect for a period of five years, starting retroactively on January 1, 2024 as approved by the USMS Prisoner Operations Division. Either party may terminate the Agreement, for any reason with at least 30 calendar day advance notice, unless an emergency situation requires the immediate relocation of federal detainees.
The IGA with the USMS contains terms and conditions that differ from the standard County contract including, but not limited to, the following:
1. The IGA with USMS calls for mutual hold harmless of the parties and requires the County to indemnify the USMS based upon acts, omissions, or negligence of its agents acting in the scope of their employment.
• The County standard contract does not include any indemnification or defense by the County of a contractor.
• Potential Impact: By agreeing to hold harmless the USMS, the County could be contractually waiving the protection of sovereign immunity. Claims that may otherwise be barred against the County, time limited, or expense limited could be brought against the USMS without such limitations and the County could be responsible to defend and reimburse the USMS for costs, expenses, and damages, which could exceed the total IGA revenue amount.
While this is a notable exception to the County’s standard contract language, the Department recommends approval of the amendment to the IGA. County Counsel and Risk Management have reviewed and provided input about this revenue agreement with the USMS.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Miles Kowalski, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on April 3, 2025; Risk Management (Gregory Ustaszewski, Staff Analyst, 396-9008) on March 31, 2025; Finance (Erika Rodarte, Administrative Analyst, 387-4919) on April 14, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Valerie Clay, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on April 14, 2025.