Unpaid BIA juvenile bills deplete Martin Hall reserves

If the Bureau of Indian Affairs doesn’t pay its bill at Martin Hall, the juvenile corrections facility could close.

Whitman County Commissioner Art Swannack reported Monday morning that the BIA, who pays the bills for the three tribes that house juveniles at Martin Hall Juvenile Detention Center in Medical Lake, is $300,000 behind in payments from October through April.

Nez Perce, Coeur d’Alene and Yakama tribes use Martin Hall.

The area counties who house juveniles at Martin are all paying operation bills and that revenue has been keeping the hall operational for the time being, Swannack said.

He said Martin Hall now is operating off reserves because of the lack of payment from the tribes. If the BIA doesn’t pay soon, the hall could fall below the $350,000 reserve minimum set late last year and trigger a 90-day notice to participating agencies that the hall will close.

Swannack said he believes the bills for housing tribal juveniles first go to New Mexico, then get routed to Butte, Mont.

Counties now pay a rate of $155 a day for each bed use. Since 1996, each county paid for a set number of bed-days per year. Whitman County averaged 2.5 beds per day, 912.5 beds per year, paying $141,437 at $155 per day.

Although Spokane County pulled out of the nine-county agreement this year, overflow from that county’s juvenile detention goes to Martin Hall.

The counties who have juveniles in the hall include Adams, Asotin, Douglas, Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens and Whitman.

Swannack said after the March bills are paid, the center should still have $475,000 in reserves. He will learn later this month if the tribes’ bills are paid.