Goldwater Institute is seeking transparency in the financial oversight of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, which has been under federal monitoring for 12 years. The institute has filed a friend of the court brief urging a federal judge to lift a 2014 order that keeps spending details confidential. This move comes as Maricopa County contends that ongoing federal oversight is no longer necessary and should be terminated.
The county claims that more than $300 million has been spent on this oversight, with over $30 million allocated to the court-appointed monitor. The Goldwater Institute argues that taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being used, especially since many policies that initially warranted federal intervention have reportedly been reformed.
The monitor’s invoices are currently submitted only to the judge and remain inaccessible to public scrutiny or government watchdogs. Efforts by Goldwater to access these documents have been consistently denied without explanation. The institute’s brief emphasizes the importance of allowing taxpayers insight into financial allocations, stating: “it’s crucial that Maricopa County taxpayers be permitted to know where their tax dollars are going—and that’s hindered by the existing orders and continued federal oversight without a full public accounting.”
For further details, readers can visit Goldwater Institute’s website or review their brief on the matter.
