County staff presented a detailed funding discussion for the Peoria County Jail master plan and demonstrated an interactive "pay-as-you-go" tool to model funding scenarios. Shelby Valente, budget and finance analyst, said the county has spent roughly $9 million on jail repairs and maintenance since 2011, with the capital projects fund contributing about $6.8 million, ARPA about $941,000 and the general fund about $1.1 million.

Staff recommended treating the kitchen and laundry as the first major capital phase, with a target construction estimate of roughly $7 million to $10 million and a plan that work would not begin until FY2027. The FY2026 budget includes $3.5 million for engineering and design. The committee reviewed six funding buckets: general fund reserves (approximately 40% reserve balance), FY24 general fund surplus (~$1.7M), projected vacancy savings (~$1M), capital projects fund (public facility sales tax; typically ~$4.5M/year; scenario capped at $3.25M), County State Capital Improvement Fund (Keystone loan; $2–3M loan possible), and ARPA interest (~$2.5M available through FY2029).

Scott summarized a procurement and schedule plan: issue an RFQ for architectural and engineering services, aim for a contract award in early-to-mid 2026 and, if the schedule holds, begin construction on the kitchen and laundry in FY2027. The Sheriff noted the narrative that the jail is structurally unsound "is a false one," saying the facility does not need immediate demolition but will require staged work, budget adjustments and continued maintenance.

Committee members asked about access to the interactive tool; staff said they could circulate it with instructions or present it again. Chair said decisions on funding strategy will remain an executive-committee discussion while project procurement and bids will proceed through the infrastructure committee. Staff emphasized trade-offs: using capital projects fund dollars for the jail would delay other scheduled capital projects.