Closer look taken at jail costs (01/08/08)

County Commissioners believe expansion and renovation of the Jay County Jail makes sense, but they don't know how to pay for the project.

Preliminary estimates by two architectural firms put the "hard" construction costs at about $7 million and the total cost about $8.5 million.

But a bond issue of $8 million over 20 years would cost about $700,000 to $750,000 a year, according to accounting estimates provided to the county.

Commissioners had hoped the county could pay off the bond issue by making a one-cent reduction in the cumulative bridge fund, but Jay County Auditor Nancy Culy said Monday that a penny on the tax rate would only generate $75,000 a year - far short of what the commissioners had been looking for.

Commissioners president Milo Miller Jr. was clearly discouraged as he crunched numbers Monday afternoon.

"Happy new year," said commissioner Gary Theurer sardonically.

It's possible that additional revenues could be shifted from the cumulative capital development fund, the rainy day fund, or the infrastructure fund provided by the county's fees from the Jay County Landfill.

A property tax increase could also be used to pay off a bond issue, but the commissioners showed no sign of moving in that direction on Monday.

The rainy day fund consists of unspent funds which are moved into the account towards the end of a fiscal year. Established three years ago, it now has a balance of about $750,000.

But Culy and the commissioners noted that because of delays in getting the county's budget approved by the state, it may be necessary to borrow from the rainy day fund this summer.

In addition, one quarter of one percent of the county's local income tax is dedicated for public safety programs and might be tapped for the jail.

"We might be able to take it from here, here, here, and here and scale (the project) back to a Chevy not a Cadillac," said Miller.

"It sounds like it would be a bicycle not a Chevy," said Theurer.

As outlined by DLZ of Indianapolis, the expanded jail would have 128 inmate beds and another 30 beds for a work release program. As outlined Monday by Schenkel-Shultz of Fort Wayne, the expansion would result in 96 to 110 beds depending upon its configuration and another 28 beds for work release.

The commissioners have not hired an architectural firm on the project, and Theurer indicated Monday he's not willing to move forward until it's clear how the project would be paid for.

Any funding method would require approval by the Jay County Council.

"The council could say, 'Forget it,'" said Theurer.

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