Jail Expansion Headed For Narrow Victory

Voters apparently approved a half-cent sales tax hike to fund the Kootenai County Jail expansion.

But it was close.

With 47 of 53 county precincts reporting late Tuesday, the sales tax was favored by 61 percent of voters - barely above the 60 percent needed to pass.

“It’s kind of scary. I got my whole reputation on this,” said Kootenai County Commissioner Ron Rankin, who championed the tax measure. “I have been pushing for property tax relief since the ice age. So far we are still ahead.”

The five-year sales tax was designed to raise $24 million. Of that, $12 million would go to jail expansion and administration costs, and the remainder of the money raised would go to property tax relief.

Rankin has said he and the commission would follow through with plans to build the jail regardless. If the measure fails, they plan to raise property taxes by $1.7 million a year for seven years to pay for the $9.5 million expansion and $2.5 million in administration costs.

The sales tax met fierce competition from Glen Walker, a former Kootenai County prosecutor and Ted Pulver, an independent candidate for Kootenai County Sheriff.

In a spirited debate that sometimes got personal, Walker questioned both the need for the jail and the funding structure supported by Rankin.

Walker accused county leaders of pushing for a bigger jail while ignoring rehabilitation programs needed to stop the cycle of crime surrounding drug offenses.