Sheriff and county officials press for jail expansion as board weighs timing and tax impact

St. Croix County officials spent most of the July 9 Committee of the Whole meeting on a proposed jail expansion that county staff and the sheriff say is intended to modernize classification, increase receiving cells and expand medical and special‑needs housing.

Sheriff Knutson framed the project as an expansion, not a replacement, saying, "When we talk about this jail project, we start with it being an expansion. There's not a new jail." County Administrator Ken (introduced at the meeting as the presenter of financing options) told supervisors the jail element of the package is budgeted at $46,000,000 while the companion communications project is $20,000,000. Ken said the combined debt would raise the county levy temporarily, which he illustrated as an incremental cost of about $110 per year on a $400,000 home.

Why it matters: county officials said the existing 1993 facility lacks adequate receiving space, medical capacity and modern special‑housing design. Department of Corrections guidance and local inspection findings were cited repeatedly as reasons the county has been cited for classification and housing deficiencies in recent years.

Department of Corrections specialist Brad Hoover told supervisors that meeting objective classification and housing standards is increasingly difficult: "The big thing you're hearing a lot this morning is classification," he said, and he noted DOC administrative guidance (DOC 350) on housing and receiving‑cell ratios.

Supervisors sought more local data before final decisions. Supervisor Rice and others pressed for updated, county‑level population and demographic projections to test whether long‑term capacity assumptions still hold. Several supervisors also asked staff to quantify operating‑cost and staffing effects of different designs.

Timing and process: Administrator Ken ran a series of informal "paddle" straw polls to gauge board sentiment. The panel was nearly unanimous that "something" needed to be done, but many supervisors preferred delaying the bond sale so the jail could be authorized but sold later; Ken said he would move the $46,000,000 planning entry to 2028 to give the board further opportunity to refine design and projections. Ken said the board still faces a supermajority (15 of 21) authorizing vote to issue bonds if it seeks an initial multi‑year authorization.

Next steps: staff and the sheriff will provide additional analysis on demographic projections, separation/classification effects of the extra pod option, and lifecycle/cost breakdowns for board review before the next formal authorization votes.