Chesterfield County Council approves ballot question for 1% sales tax to fund $50M detention center

At a special meeting, the Chesterfield County Council voted to approve the second reading of an ordinance placing a 1% capital sales-and-use tax on the ballot to raise funds for a new county detention center.

The chair read the proposed ballot question aloud and described the single project on Exhibit A as “the construction of a new county detention center,” with an authorized principal amount of up to $50,000,000 in general obligation bonds if needed. The chair said the question would ask voters whether a 1% sales tax be imposed in Chesterfield County for not more than eight years to raise the specified amount for design, engineering, property purchase, construction, renovation, equipping and furnishing of the project. “This detention center is functionally and structurally obsolete. It's a liability to us,” the chair said, urging the council to share the cost across taxpayers rather than raising millage.

Staff explained how the financing would work, saying annual debt service would be paid partly by the proposed sales tax and partly by an existing 7 mills currently on debt. A staff member summarized the rough arithmetic offered in the discussion: annual payments of about $5,500,000 over eight years would amount to roughly $44,000,000 toward construction, with an additional roughly $6,000,000 anticipated for other costs. Staff also said the $50,000,000 figure is currently a ballpark estimate pending a bed study and further work by engineers and architects.

Council members asked clarifying questions about whether the county would borrow the full $50,000,000 and how lenders would be selected. Staff said bond attorneys would solicit bids and select an institution to issue bonds when the county is ready, to secure the best interest rate. The chair emphasized the need to educate voters about what a yes or no vote would mean and said the ballot language will be reviewed by the Elections Commission in Columbia before the question is finalized.

After discussion, a council member moved to approve the ordinance and another seconded. The council approved the motion by voice vote with no opposition recorded on the transcript. The ordinance’s placement on the ballot remains contingent on Elections Commission approval and on final numbers from ongoing engineering and bed studies.

What happens next: the county will continue design and cost verification steps (including a bed study and contractor/architect estimates), bond counsel will prepare for a future bond issuance if necessary, and staff indicated plans for district-level education and town halls prior to the referendum.