Courtroom, jail planning continues; $3 million courthouse annex grant status uncertain as county pursues jail funding

Harney County Judge Bill Hart and other officials updated the Budget Committee on April 8 about the county’s ongoing efforts to fund and plan a new jail and associated court facility needs.

Hart reminded the committee that the 2023 Oregon legislative session awarded $3 million in a grant originally identified for a courthouse annex (the Lincoln Building renovation). The funds have not yet been transferred to Harney County, and state program administrators have placed restrictions on how the appropriation may be spent. County staff said they have asked the administering state agency whether the grant’s courthouse annex designation can be repurposed to court‑related facilities tied to a new jail (for example attorney‑client rooms, interview rooms, remote appearance rooms and security‑related court components). As of the meeting, the county had not received final approval to repurpose the appropriation and described the funding as “up in the air.”

Hart said the county has allocated $5 million in a jail reserve fund and submitted a capital request to the 2025 legislative cycle for an additional $4 million to build a new jail on county property; county staff are also pursuing other federal and state sources. The committee discussed the challenges of developing plans before the county secures construction funding: building plans and cost estimates can become stale if construction is delayed, and design work itself requires funding.

The committee also heard that the county has initiated an RFP/RFQ process for design/engineering services to prepare the county for requests for capital funding. Staff said any awarded grants or legislative appropriations would determine whether design contracts proceed and whether the courthouse annex funds can be applied to court components of a jail/justice center project.

Committee members emphasized the county’s security concerns in the current courthouse configuration (transporting inmates through public areas and risk of escape during transport) as driving the priority to plan for combined or adjacent jail and court facilities. The county will continue seeking legislative appropriations and other grant funds and will revisit project scope once funding certainty improves.