Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sales Tax topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Citizens Oversight Committee backs 0.4% sales tax, adds lockbox and oversight conditions
Summary
The committee voted to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners place a 0.4% county sales tax question on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot, adding four supplemental conditions: expand citizen oversight to include credentialed officials, create a lockbox for excess funds, set a 25–30 year term, and cap the project at not to exceed $605,000,000 or 800,000 sq ft or 1,800 total beds.
The Citizens Oversight Committee on a voice and roll-call vote recommended that the Board of County Commissioners place a proposed 0.4% county sales tax on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot to fund construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, equipment and staffing for detention, diversion and behavioral health facilities.
Committee members amended the recommendation with four supplementals they asked the commissioners and bond counsel to include in the final ballot language: expand the oversight committee to include credentialed officials, create a lockbox to capture any excess dollars for future maintenance, set the term at 25 to 30 years, and limit the project to not exceed $605,000,000 and/or 800,000 square feet and 1,800 total beds. "The expansion of the oversight committee to include credentialed officials, the creation of a lockbox to capture any excess for future maintenance, and not to exceed $605,000,000 and or 800,000 square feet and 1,800 beds total," Cassie read back as the motion's final language.
Committee members debated whether the cap should hinge on bed count or square footage. Several members urged language that would make the project scope and financial limits clear to voters while leaving technical drafting to bond counsel. Chair Steve Mason confirmed the motion was seconded and the committee recorded a roll-call vote in favor; the recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for its legal review and possible placement on the ballot.
The committee and members repeatedly stressed that the commissioners and their legal team would have to translate the committee's recommendation into legally compliant ballot text. "The attached language is written by a bond counsel that has skills in how these ballots have to be written legally, so I'd stay away from that," a staff member cautioned during drafting.
