[Vision2020] Cd'A Jail Fails & Half-cent Sales Tax For It, Too

[Kenneth Marcy]

http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2008/11/05/news/news02.txt

COEUR d'ALENE -- Voters slammed the door on the county's jail 
expansion/comprehensive facilities plan Tuesday, voting against $145 million 
in bonding authorization and the accompanying half-cent sales tax increase.

Both fell well short of the super majority needed to pass with 37,957 votes 
(64.1 percent) against the bond question to 21,260 votes (35.9 percent) in 
favor. For the sales tax quesion, 37,405 (61.5 percent) voted against and 
23,412 (38.5 percent) voted in favor.

Commissioner Todd Tondee said Tuesday night that the problem of an overcrowded 
jail isn't going away.

"We're going to have to do something. We'll reevaluate and see," Tondee 
said. "It's a disappointment, but we'll deal with it."

The $145 million would have built between nine and 12 new buildings, two 
multi-level parking structures and various expansions to existing facilities 
both at the sheriff's current headquarters and the downtown courthouse 
campus.

The state law that allows for half the money collected each year from a sales 
tax to pay off a jail and the other half to go toward property-tax relief is 
set to expire Dec. 31, 2009.

Newly re-elected Sheriff Rocky Watson said he was not sure if his department 
would push for another jail expansion/facilities plan before the local-option 
sales tax law expires.

"That is completely up to the commissioners. That is their responsibility," 
Watson said. "The failure is not a surprise. The degree of the failure is 
disappointing after you give 100 presentations and open houses."

Watson said the plan was a "complex issue" that should have had more time than 
90 days in the public eye and deserved the support of all the commissioners. 
Commissioner Rick Currie did not support the plan.

"They've got to do something. The jail is overcrowded and it's a huge 
expense," Watson said.

The last time the county asked voters to approve a jail expansion was in 2005, 
when it fell short of the required super majority by 300 votes. That plan had 
a $50 million price tag.

Tondee said they will look at all options including tapping into the general 
fund -- property taxes -- to pay for a jail expansion. The half-cent sales 
tax would have paid for the debt service on the bonds and kept the project 
property tax neutral.

"I don't know if (spending more time explaining the plan to the public) would 
have changed anything. Looking back, I'm not disappointed in anything we have 
done," Tondee said. "I think it's tough economic times and people were just 
not interested in it."