TRINITY — County officials and state financing experts provided Trinity County residents with information regarding a bond proposal to build a new jail for county prisoners.
Earlier this year, the Trinity County Commissioners Court placed a $16.6 million bond issue before county voters in hopes to get funding to replace the old, dilapidate and entirely-too-small facility it currently has. On Thursday, voters got to hear the information the county used to justify the bond election.
Audience members questioned several aspects of the plan, including how much additional it would cost to operate the new jail, since the payments on the bonds did not include that. Other questions concerned the tax collection rate, the type of materials to be used, the cost of such a facility 15 years ago, and whether additional tax hikes would be needed to run the new jail.
The plan, as shown by DRG architect Gary Adams, is for a 60-bed jail facility to be built on Highway 287 near Groveton, which will put it near the necessary infrastructure, such as water and sewer service.
The current jail was built in 1938, and Adams said that at the time, it could hold as many prisoners as it could and still be “able to shut the door.” However, state requirements have ultimately left the prison with a capacity of only seven.
He also said the jail will house both male and female prisoners, and if necessary, can be expanded.
If voters grant their approval, the bonds will pay for the new facility at a cost of approximately $1.3 million a year. Ben Rosenberg, of U.S. Capital Advisors of Austin, said that the actual payments will depend on interest rates available at the time of the bond sale.
It’s expected to cost around $97 per $100,000 of property value; Rosenberg said the average property value in the county is $208,000, and the increased taxes could add $200.29 to the annual tax bill. The calculations were based on a 4.5 percent interest rate.
Rosenberg said that if the interest rate at the time of sale was too high, or the bond sale too expensive, the county still could reject any bids on the bonds; the November vote would be good for many years, meaning the county could wait until the market was more favorable.
County Commissioner Tommy Park pointed out the cost of retiring the bonds, while at the same time saying that a six-year average of the cost of housing prisoners was $721,073.15 a year. While the housing costs would remain in-county once the new jail is built, the expense of running the new jail will change.
Sheriff Woody Wallace said the cost of inmate housing is expensive, and a new jail would not save the county any money, but everyone knows they need a new jail.
He also said that currently it costs $20,000 a year for utilities on the old jail, and $25,000 a year is needed for maintenance. He also said that the most expensive part of running a jail is hiring jailers. Also, in Trinity County, jailers also serve as dispatchers for emergency personnel.
“The question is, do we want to pay now or kick the can down the road,” he said.
He also said that relying on other jails is a problem, since county sheriffs have the say on whether the county accepts other prisoners and how much it would cost. Currently, the cost of housing prisoners averages $75 per day per inmate, and while the county is averaging $721,000 a year, it could climb as high as $2 million per year if prices rise, something Wallace said he expects.
One audience member asked if the county would house other counties’ prisoners to help offset costs; Wallace said he would be open to it, but the county as a matter of budget and policy cannot rely on it.
Early voting for the Nov. 4 General election will begin Oct. 20.
