$42,000,000.
paid out by taxpayers to settle lawsuits filed against Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO).
$5,500,000
paid out in rent to house Arpaio's senior staff in the private Wells Fargo office building.
$12,000,000
paid in increased insurance premiums, as a result of the recklessness Arpaio's poor management and horrific record of lawsuit losses.
$5,000,000
insurance deductible, which is the amount Maricopa County taxpayers have to pay before a single penny of any lawsuit loss is paid by the insurance company.
$500,000
for five full-time public relations staff whose job it is to keep Arpaio's name in the news. One is even assigned to promote Arpaio overseas.
$250,000
is the estimated cost of Arpaio's foreign policy escapade in Honduras. This is a combination of taxpayer money and RICO funds, which are supposed to be used to combat crime in Maricopa County, not a foreign country.
$750,000
spent last year alone on outside counsel, who were paid an average of $150 or more per hour --of taxpayer money-- to defend Joe Arpaio.
Total: $61,000,000
Source: Maricopa County Office of Risk Assessment and Finance Office
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Consensus: Arpaio Wastes Taxpayer's Money
Joe Arpaio seems to have missed the memo that Arizonans expect their public officials, especially elected officials, to watch the purse strings and spend their money wisely on things that benefit the public and the public good. Notoriously reckless with public funds, Joe Arpaio has a history of wasting not just tens of thousands of dollars, not just hundreds of thousands of dollars, but tens of millions of dollars.
Most disturbing of all is the simple fact that he doesn't care.
"I welcome the lawsuit, I welcom being sued." Arpaio told the New York Times following the arrests of the owner and executive editor of the Phoenix New Times (on charges that were promptly dropped).
"I don't know what people are worried about. We just sneeze and it's $30,000."
Here's what others say about Arpaio's wasting of taxpayer dollars.
Robert Robb: Arpaio's illegal immigrant sweeps are to be condemned - "...Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. They need to condemn what is being done in the county's name, and they need to explore what they can do to cut off funding for these immigration sweeps...[more]."
Neville Cramer: Arpaio’s sweeps little more than a circus - "Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has now waded into the deep water of U.S. immigration enforcement. Whether it is his desire for more publicity, greater popularity, better book sales or some other self-perpetuating reason, the utilization of his department’s resources to conduct street “sweeps” to arrest illegal immigrants has nothing whatsoever to do with good law enforcement... [more]"
You have to question the judgment of anyone who "welcomes being sued." You have to wonder about the character of someone who doesn't care about addressing the problem of "unconstitutional jails" and the millions of wasted dollars that could have been used for more productive purposes. You have to wonder about someone who tells employees there will be no more training and to recycle paperclips, while at the same time approves trips for senior staff to other countries. You have to wonder about Joe Arpaio.
The Balanced Budget Lie
Joe Arpaio also grossly distorts his ability to live within his budget. While he'll gladly tell taxpayers that he's always "in the black," what he won't tell you is the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors have supplemented his budget with additional tax dollars to make it look like he's in the black.
His refusal to hire new deputies and detention officers even when given the money allows his to use another budgeting parlor trick to make it look like he has an excess of funds, when in reality, it's simply moved to the next fiscal quarter. This trick is nothing more than a shell game of moving money from one spot to the next to make it look as though he is being fiscally responsible at the expense of actually using the money to hire those professionals needed to keep the peace.
The words good fiscal management and Joe Arpaio simply do not belong in the same sentence.
Raises for MCSO Deputy and Detention Officers
If you take just the amount of money paid out from lawsuit losses in 2008 alone, you could increase the wages and benefits of the MCSO's 800 Deputies and Detention Officers by nearly $11,250 per year per person. Maricopa County is the fifth largest county. In terms of deputy salaries, MCSO deputies salaries don't even make the top ten and are among the lowest in Arizona.
1,000 of the World's best bulletproof vests
for every deputy and posse member with enough left over to replace them when they wear out. The MCSO requires deputies to purchase their own bulletproof vests out of their own pocket. A good vest can cost upwards of $1,500 each. Do you think it is fair for deputies to pay for a device that can save their life when it is the County Sheriff who puts them in harm's way?
Install computers in all of the patrol cars.
Did you know that not a single Maricopa County patrol car has a computer? Not one. Every other patrol car in nearly every other police agency in the county has a computer. Sixty million dollars would create a state-of-the-art information and communication system that could be at the disposal of every deputy out on patrol anywhere in the County, making all of us safer.
An engine for the tank. . .
since it doesn't have one. The "show" tank (155mm self-propelled Howitzer) Arpaio parades around the county has no engine. In fact, for the $60M wasted so far, you could also buy a working cannon for the tank. No working motor and no working cannon. In short, the tank is completely and utterly useless and a total waste of money.
Can you help?
Do you have a story that helps expand the case that Joe Arpaio is an ineffective in serving the warrants Arizona law says he is supposed to serve? Send it to us at: info@joesgottogo.com