Agency official urges half‑cent sales tax for jail expansion, cites rising costs and out‑of‑county boarding

An agency official representing the Cole County Sheriff's Department told the Cole County Commission on June 2 that rising operational costs and chronic overcrowding mean the county should place a sales‑tax measure on the ballot to fund jail expansion and operations.

The official said the county approved a sales tax in 2007 to help fund the sheriff's facility and that current revenue sources and general funds are no longer sufficient. He said the county spent $425,000 in 2025 to board inmates in other counties and described a jail population that has grown from about 150 inmates in 2017 to roughly 210 in 2025, while the facility has 206 beds. "We need the additional — we have asset sales tax dedicated to the jail expansion," the agency official said, adding that an expansion would add about 160 beds.

Why it matters: The official framed the proposal as a long‑term public‑safety and fiscal stability measure, saying without action the county's contingency balance (he cited 2017 versus 2026 figures) could be depleted and out‑of‑county boarding costs could continue to climb.

Details and proposal: The official described a financing scenario in which a half‑cent sales tax could raise roughly $8.4 million and that debt service on bonds would absorb an estimated $3.4 million, leaving the remainder to cover staffing, medical, food and other operating costs. He described a range of cost increases since 2017 — for example, inmate‑food, insurance and technology costs — and said average inmate days rose from about 12.6 days (2017) to about 24.2 days (2025). He prefaced several figures as preliminary and said he is not an auditor: "I'm a cop, so be gentle on those numbers," he said.

Commissioner questions and next steps: Commissioners asked practical questions about timing for a ballot measure and whether ballot placement should be April or November, noting statutory submission deadlines. The agency official said April would be preferable if staff and outreach can be completed in time; he said starting conversations with banks and stakeholders was a next step. Commissioners also asked whether the proposal accounts for planned 9‑1‑1 system upgrades and whether dispatch could be restructured or shared to reduce costs; the official and the county auditor were asked to bring firmer numbers on dispatch and upgrade timing.

Court backlog and jail population drivers: The commission discussed whether delays in the local court system and pretrial processes are contributing to boarding and asked for coordination with judges and other justice‑system partners to reduce costly out‑of‑county housing.

What was decided: No formal motion was made to place a tax on the ballot. The agency official said he will organize outreach and work with the auditor and banks to refine numbers; commissioners asked staff to return with clearer estimates and a timeline before any ballot decision.

Quoted: "In 2025 alone, we spent $425,000 to board prisoners out," the agency official said. "Once the bonds are paid off... we would have $2.03[8]¢ sales tax" (financial figures discussed as preliminary).