November 4, 2009 in Idaho

Jail vote failures will cost Kootenai County

Shipped inmates expected to cost $52 million over 10 years

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Kootenai County will continue to ship inmates to other jails — to the tune of about $52 million over the next decade — following the failure Tuesday of two ballot measures that would have expanded the county jail.

“We’re still tasked with making the best decisions for the county that we can,” Commissioner Todd Tondee said Wednesday.

County commissioners also will lobby state legislators to renew the local-option sales tax that expires at the end of the year, he said. That legislation allowed the county to place two measures on Tuesday’s ballot, but both failed to garner the two-thirds support needed for passage.

The measures would have raised the county sales tax by a half-cent for 10 years, using the revenues to pay for a $57 million jail expansion and for property tax relief. The jail expansion would have added 457 beds and enlarged the kitchen, storage areas, laundry and infirmary to meet county needs for at least a decade, county officials have said. The jail today has 325 beds.

Another possible way to solve the space problem, Tondee said, would be to ask a federal judge to review the issue, which could lead to a mandate that overcrowding be addressed. Tondee said the sheriff and county commissioners had the right to ask for such a review but that he himself was “not intending on doing that.”

Major Travis Chaney of the county Sheriff’s Office said jail officials have discussed it but no decisions have been made. “Have we asked for it yet? No,” Chaney said. “That may be in the future. I can’t speak for the sheriff, but I can tell you it has been discussed.”

State Rep. George Sayler, D-Coeur d’Alene, said he believes a local-option bill will be presented in the 2010 legislative session, which convenes Jan. 11. He said the North Idaho delegation generally supports reconstituting the legislation but said it’s likely to meet significant resistance from lawmakers opposed to additional taxes or expansion of government.

“The argument I heard (against it) is it creates a hodge-podge of taxes around the state which makes it difficult to attract business,” Sayler said. “I thought that was kind of a weak argument.”

Tondee said he knows it’s always difficult to ask for more taxes. What’s more, he said, citizens also really don’t want their tax dollars used to take care of inmates. “They don’t think they deserve the rights. That’s been a struggle every time we put this up,” said Tondee, adding that though he agrees with the sentiment, the county is mandated by law to care for its inmates.

Tondee said the county could continue reducing the size of the proposed expansion until the cost is more palatable, but then the jail likely would be full the day it opens. He said the commissioners are trying to address the county’s long-term needs.

“We could build 100 or 200 beds … then we’d be right back at them saying it’s full and we need to do it again,” Tondee said. “I don’t have the energy to do that. We have a lot more issues because that’s the way the county’s been run.”

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Seven comments on this story so far. Add yours!

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  Sadbuttrue on November 04 at 7:48 p.m.

  “which could lead to a mandate that overcrowding be addressed.”

  And that order might easily lend itself to a solution not anticipated by these supporters of a bigger jail. The Judge might just order that half of the jail population be released. That's what just happened in California.

  So the California penal system had to sit down and really think about who really does belong in prison, and release those who actually should have never been sent there to begin with. They easily complied with the court order.

  There has been no spike in crime, no public outcry about massive numbers of these “criminals” being released.

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  Rifleman__Dodd on November 04 at 7:50 p.m.

  How about not putting people in jail for stupid reasons?

  Sadbuttrue does address some relevant issues that the politicians have not, and should.

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  toughlove on November 04 at 8:06 p.m.

  I think the reporter got the figure wrong for how much it will cost to outsource prisoners when he gives us a 52 million dollar figure. I believe the county has said it costs about 1 million this year and I doubt we have that much growth. Besides the interest alone on the jail expansion would be around 2 million a year, thus the longer we wait the more money is saved. The voters got it right, the Review and Press got it wrong.

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  Sugar Shane on November 04 at 8:13 p.m.

  stop putting non violent drug offenders in jail! Reform the marijuana laws! The problem isn't needing bigger jails its the laws that put people that have medical issues like drug addiction into the judicial system instead of the medical system. Idaho is a retarded red state full of a bunch of backward rednecks, they deserve the bills created by their lack of common sense.

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  Pacem on November 04 at 8:24 p.m.

  While I am not opposed to expanding our current jail system, I voted against the 2 propositions that were offered to us recently. What I disagree with, is the fact that they want to spend $124,726 per bed for a new jail (that's $57,000,000 divided by the 457 beds it would create). That's the cost of a starter house for each inmate! How outrageous! Is it too much to ask the county and sheriff's department to create a facility that is a little less comfortable on its inhabitants and a little more comfortable on the county's checkbook? Come back to us, County Commissioners and Sheriff, when you have a more cost effective approach. Then, you'll get my vote.

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  ibsober on November 05 at 5:47 a.m.

  How about that? tondee warned that if we didnt vote for the measure, they would do it any way with some sort of mandate. I would like to ask how many people would vote those guys out of office when they do this? But then it really wont change what they did would it? we would still have the extra tax…We need a tim eyeman type of person over here!

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  greyhound2 on November 05 at 2:30 p.m.

  The Ida-Billies have another option. Idaho ranks second in the nation for the numbers of people incarcerated in the judicial system. They could take a close look at sentencing guidelines regarding victim-less and non-violent alledged crimes. That would reduce the inmate population by a large percentage and mitigate overcrowding. That, however, would require some comon sense, something in short supply in Kootenai County.

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