Sheriff Jerry Sheridan says improvements to Valleywise Health are needed through Prop 409

PHOENIX — Voters will decide whether a $900-million bond initiative to improve Valleywise Health moves forward in the Nov. 4 election.

Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan is hoping voters pass Prop 409, which he says will help rehabilitate incarcerated people.

“My thing is, very simply put, we need more mental health beds,” Sheridan told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Monday. “That’s why I support Prop 409.”

“We have a contingent of officers (at Valleywise Health) and we have probably 40 or 50 inmates a day there. We take about seven inmates a day for emergency calls.”

Sheridan said that many of the inmates in the Maricopa County jail system would have a better chance at rehabilitation if they were given mental health treatment instead of general incarceration.

“We have about 400 beds that are psych beds. There’s not enough psych beds,” Sheridan said.

Sheridan said the tax increase is more than worth the cost.

If passed, the ballot measure would allow the Maricopa County Special Health Care District, commonly known as Valleywise Health, to raise nearly $900 million through the sale of general obligation bonds.

The bonds would be paid off through secondary property taxes that would cost taxpayers an estimated 11 cents per $100 of net Assessed Limited Property Value.

“It is a tax, it does cost money, but it will also help us fight by getting people healthy and prevent crime,” Sheridan said.

Additional advantages of passing Prop 409

Passing Prop 409 would provide an additional benefit to the court system.

Sheridan said increased resources at Valleywise will help patients get evaluated before trial.

Some cases require inmates to clear mental health standards in order to stand trial. Sheridan said it’s a situation that arises frequently.

“One of the other things that we do, we take inmates on a daily basis to be evaluated, have their mental health evaluated so they can stand trial,” Sheridan said.

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