Sales tax and bond issues aimed at supporting new county jails passed in Madison County, but failed in Pope County during Tuesday’s special elections.
Madison County voters narrowly approved a 1% sales tax to support the maintenance and operation of an under-construction, 148-bed county jail that’s scheduled to be complete in June. Voters had twice rejected a similar ballot measure and barely passed Tuesday’s measure by 16 votes, according to unofficial results.
The results were “a little bit too close” for Madison County Judge Larry Garrett, who said Wednesday morning he was “relieved” about the outcome, which he anticipated would have a narrow margin.
“It’s big for our county and it’s going to be big for our future,” he said. “We’re excited to get started down that road.”
Madison County only has a 24-hour holding facility currently, so prisoners are transported and held in other counties around the state, which costs money and manpower, Garrett told the Advocate last week.
Following formal certification of the results by election officials, Garrett said it will be a few months before the county starts receiving the new tax revenue and can hire staff, so the jail likely won’t be operational until December or January.
“I appreciate the people of our county stepping up and taking care of business,” he said.
In Pope County, voters rejected an $89.9 million bond issue to support construction of a new facility to house a county jail, 911 call center, the sheriff’s office and the office of emergency management. According to unofficial results, 1,723 people voted for the measure and 1,862 voted against.
Voters also rejected a 0.75% sales tax to pay off the bond debt with 1,624 people voting in support of the measure and 1,986 voting against it.
Pope County Judge Ben Cross said Monday he anticipates the issue will be presented to voters again in a couple of years because county government only operates on sales tax and property tax, and revenue is needed to meet the growing county’s needs.
“The problems don’t go away just because the tax failed,” Cross said. “I would anticipate that a future sheriff and a future county judge will have no other option than to present this to the voters again because we continue to grow and we continue to have inadequate services. So it’s going to be up to the voters to take their security and their safety as a priority.”
County officials started the year with 11,000 active misdemeanor warrants, but because of overcrowding, the current 172-bed jail is only being used to hold felons and people who’ve committed violent misdemeanors like domestic violence, Cross said Monday. Pope County’s population has doubled since the current jail was constructed in 1981, according to county officials.
Pope County government hasn’t solicited a tax increase in more than 30 years, according to Cross, who said Wednesday he was hopeful that would resonate with voters. However, he acknowledged a variety of factors likely played into voters’ decision to reject the measures, including “the national climate” and low voter turnout. Only 10% of registered voters participated in Tuesday’s elections, according to election officials.
“Ten percent decided for the next 90% what was going to happen,” Cross said. “You’ve got voter fatigue, voter apathy, so it’s just a conglomeration, but there’s no doubt that the national uncertainty of economics plays into everybody’s voting process.”
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