Clay County Commissioners warning the county faces mounting legal and financial liabilities if the county continues to delay a decision on the construction of a new jail.
Commissioner Brian Coons said the state will eventually mandate a new facility if the county does not act voluntarily. Coons said a state-imposed project would likely ignore local preferences while still requiring the county to provide the funding.
“At some point, we’re going to have to put our foot down and say it’s time to build a jail because it’s not getting cheaper,” Coons said. “It’s definitely not getting cheaper. And the only way, what the one thing we have to look at too is revenue from the county. What is our revenue. It’s tax dollars.”
Coons said the county has operated under a state plan of action since 2012. He said new state regulations now limit counties to five years to show progress once they are placed on such a plan.
“We’ve been very blessed over the last 10 years or more, actually more, that we’ve been capable of staying away from a lawsuit,” Coons said. “Because if we get sued in federal court for an inmate, we will be back building a jail and it will be to federal specs, not the state specs.”
Coons said a federally mandated jail could cost between $40 million and $50 million. He said the current facility is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, noting that inmates must walk down stairs to see a nurse.
“It’s not that Brandon Boone wants a jail,” Coons said. “Is it the right thing to do because yes, you’re going to save money on the front end of just housing all your inmates in another county.”
Coons said the county currently pays roughly $200,000 annually to house inmates in other jurisdictions. He said this figure does not include the additional costs for gasoline or officer time.
“What do you do when they say ‘No, we’re not taking them no more,’ five years from now, four years from now, another sheriff, another mayor comes in: ‘I want all your inmates out of my county,’” Coons said. “We’re going to be looking at this four years from now, please.”
Coons said a $15 million United States Department of Agriculture loan for a new 51-bed facility was approved last week. He said the county has already spent between $600,000 and $800,000 on preliminary work for the current proposed site.