BENTONVILLE — Benton County’s justices of the peace decided on the rate of a possible sales tax increase to pay to expand the county jail.
The expansion was the focus at Tuesday’s finance committee meeting.
A county criminal justice committee recommends nearly $250 million be spent on the jail expansion and courts complex. The committee wants a tax increase on the November ballot.
The ballot measure will only concern expanding the jail because justices of the peace plan to pay for the courts project with existing county money. The estimated budget for the jail is $206.2 million.
Justice of the Peace Joel Jones recommended the committee set a one-eighth-cent sales tax increase to pay for the bond for the expansion and a one-quarter-cent sales tax increase to pay for the operations and management of the jail.
Jones noted that the jail probably won’t be fully staffed for a few years, and he said millions of dollars for the operations and management could be used to pay off the bond until the jail is fully staffed.
Justice of the Peace Tom Allen said he didn’t want to raise taxes but believes it is necessary.
The committee voted in favor of Jones’ motion, and it was moved to Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting. Justice of the Peace Joseph Bollinger was the lone vote against sending the issue to the Committee of Whole.
Bollinger said he wanted more time to discuss the increases. He requested the item be tabled, but justices of the peace denied his request.
Sheriff Shawn Holloway told the committee the jail was cited by the state’s jail standards committee for the third year for inadequate staffing and spacing. The committee requested the Sheriff’s Office hire an expert to conduct a study on the jail’s staffing needs, he said.
The committee advised the jail needs more medical spaces and noted the jail is overpopulated, Holloway said.
County officials have discussed setting aside $20 million from American Rescue Plan funds and $10 million from county reserves to help pay for the jail expansion and courts project. The courts complex is estimated to cost $33.2 million.
The county will receive $54 million in rescue plan money from the federal government.
Holloway previously told justices of the peace the jail’s average weekly population has been over the jail’s maximum allowed by jail standards since Sept. 21. The jail averages 713 detainees with a maximum capacity of 669, he said.
Holloway said the jail standards committee noted there’s a safety issue with employees having to deal with the number of inmates held in the facility. Holloway said the committee advised that the jail needs 20 to 30 more employees.
Holloway also presented the committee with information from a jail study done by jail consultant Bill Garnos. The study projects in five years the jail will need 1,138 beds to support 911 inmates, and it projects the jail will need 1,796 beds for 1,436 inmates in 20 years, Holloway said.
The projections only concern felony cases and not any misdemeanor prisoners, he said. Holloway warned committee members about the risks of waiting to expand the jail.
Holloway said the $200 million expansion will cost more in the future. The same project will cost $100 million more in five years and will be $1.6 billion in 20 years, he said.
He urged justices of the peace to let voters decide on the ballot measure
Justice of the Peace Carrie Perrien-Smith voiced doubts on whether voters will pass the measure. She questioned whether the Sheriff’s Office needs to set priorities instead of building a big, grand project. She cited an immediate need for adding beds and improving the jail’s medical area.
Justice of the Peace Brian Armas said he has faith in voters deciding on whether to support a tax increase for the project. Armas said he’s against expanding the jail by patchwork.
“Biting it off now is going to save us money in the long run,” he said.
Jones said it’s a huge amount for the expansion and he does not know whether voters will support it. He said it’s a public health issue and he wants to give voters as much information as possible and let them decide whether to vote for or against a tax increase.
Steve Cox with the Rogers/Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce said the chamber passed a resolution in support of placing the issue on the ballot.
Bella Vista Police James Graves voiced his support for a jail expansion.
Jon Comstock of Rogers once again urged the committee to consider alternatives before expanding the jail.
The justices of the peace will have to approve the ballot language by Aug. 30 to get the issue on the ballot for the November election.
Washington County officials are considering a $96 million jail expansion that may be placed on the November ballot in that county.
