County officials and the Miami County sheriff outlined a plan on Jan. 5 to build or expand county jail capacity and asked Troy City Council to consider the community implications as county leaders prepare hearings and a ballot proposal.

At a presentation to the council, sheriff’s office representatives described two existing facilities — a 25A minimum security jail and an older downtown full‑service jail — and said the county’s jail needs assessment found aging infrastructure, failing lock systems, plumbing problems and insufficient medical and detox beds. "We currently have 2 jails in Miami County," said Sheriff Dave Duchak, summarizing the starting point for the assessment. He said state minimum standards limit what the older downtown facility can house and that parts of the building fail state inspections.

The county described three options evaluated by consultants: demolish and rebuild the 25A facility as a single campus; renovate the downtown jail (which county officials said would cost more than $30 million and provide limited additional capacity); or keep and renovate 25A while building a new 200‑bed full‑service facility adjacent to it. The county identified the second option — retain and renovate 25A and construct a 200‑bed facility south of it — as its preferred balance of cost and capability.

County presenters said the recommended facility would include 32 medical/detox beds and treatment space intended to address behavioral‑health needs among the incarcerated. "About 65 percent of all inmates have a mental‑health, substance‑abuse or both," Duchak said, arguing that on‑site treatment capacity could reduce the burden on hospitals and patrol officers.

From a financing perspective, county officials said they are drafting legislation to ask voters to approve a 0.5% sales tax at the May primary and to issue a roughly $90 million bond; officials said a potential state grant (they cited hopes of approximately $15 million) and up to $10 million from the county general fund could reduce the bond size. Officials described the sales‑tax proposal as a sunset levy that would dedicate 100% of the revenue from the 0.5% to construction; they estimated a sunset of about eight to 10 years depending on grant receipts and other offsets.

Speakers acknowledged timing risks tied to state grant availability and construction‑cost inflation. County presenters said state grant programs under recent governors have provided significant funds for jail construction but noted those appropriations are subject to legislative priorities and could change. "If we get $15 or more million, that helps us," a county official said, adding that the county will pursue any available grant money to offset costs.

Council members and members of the public asked about staffing, operations and community impacts during a Q&A. Presenters said the county budgeted 53 corrections officers to staff both facilities (including supervisors) and that the construction request is for capital costs, not new recurring operational expenses. Officials also said that if the downtown facility is vacated it could be repurposed for county offices or other uses and that administration and sheriff’s staff would maintain a small downtown footprint for court security.

County officials encouraged council members and the public to review the full, roughly 200‑page jail needs assessment and to tour the existing facilities. The county said the assessment was funded in part by a $175,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections and that the report is available on the sheriff’s office website.

Next steps: county commissioners said they will hold two public hearings in January as they finalize ballot language and financing details prior to the May primary.