Dakota County amends budget for jail
By Michele Linck Journal staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007
DAKOTA CITY -- The Dakota County Board of Commissioners amended the county's 2006-07 budget Monday, adding $137,000 more than planned to cover cost overruns on the new jail.
The $7.025 million bond issue for the jail, which will be paid back with revenues from a dedicated sales tax approved by voters, included a contingency fund. It wasn't enough.
The vote was 4-1 with Commissioner Jackie Hartnett casting the nay vote. "It was a red flag vote," Hartnett said. She said she knows the money must be spent, but wanted to call attention to the continuing financial drain.
The vote followed a public hearing on the budget amendment at which no one spoke either in favor or against the increased funding. The amendment brings the current year's budget total to $3,366,089.
Hartnett said she was worried about where the money will come from. Initially it will be borrowed from the county's inheritance tax fund, which is typically used to cash flow county operations each year until property tax revenue begins to come in. But, Hartnett said, that fund has never been so low.
"The problem with borrowing is we have to pay it back," Hartnett said. "I really find it incredible we're still bleeding red ink."
Joan Spencer, board administrator, said once the full amount due is paid as bills come in, the inheritance fund will have a balance of $69,488.
Jerry Johnson of G.A. Construction, the construction manager for the jail project, told the county last week that the $137,000 will cover everything outstanding and that any problems will be fixed under warranty.
The cost overruns were on items such as covering the sprinkler system feeder pipes and adding a heater to keep pipes in the sallyport from breaking. Others were for safety items, commissioners said.
Although sales tax revenue for repaying the bonds is ahead of projections, it may not be used to pay capital costs for the jail if they exceed the $7.025 million approved by voters, according to South Sioux City Administrator Lance Hedquist. The city lent its taxing authority for the jail in a first-of-its-kind arrangement in Nebraska after voters thrice turned down property tax financing for a jail.
Federal rescue?
When the jail bond was passed, the county was paying about $1 million a year to board its overflow prisoners elsewhere. One selling point in the referendum was that any extra jail beds could be leased to federal agencies such as the Immigration Customs Enforcement, U.S. Marshal Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs, for holding their prisoners awaiting court dates in U.S. District Court in Sioux City. The agency would pay the county a daily fee for each prisoner according to a contract.
Commissioner Bill McLarty, who lobbied federal agencies for such contracts last week in Washington, D.C., said after the public hearing Monday that progress is being made.
McLarty said the U.S. Marshal Service wants to contract for a year with the county to make 25 beds available, a number which can be raised at the discretion of the local office. He said the county is just waiting for the contract to be signed in Washington.
McLarty said the BIA representative he met with said that agency will give the county as many prisoners as it can handle. However, ICE would only commit to three to five days at a time and was not interested in a contract. On Monday, the jail held seven federal prisoners.
He said he didn't know what the per diem will be, but believes it could be $80 a day.
The $7.025 million bond issue for the jail, which will be paid back with revenues from a dedicated sales tax approved by voters, included a contingency fund. It wasn't enough.
The vote was 4-1 with Commissioner Jackie Hartnett casting the nay vote. "It was a red flag vote," Hartnett said. She said she knows the money must be spent, but wanted to call attention to the continuing financial drain.
The vote followed a public hearing on the budget amendment at which no one spoke either in favor or against the increased funding. The amendment brings the current year's budget total to $3,366,089.
Hartnett said she was worried about where the money will come from. Initially it will be borrowed from the county's inheritance tax fund, which is typically used to cash flow county operations each year until property tax revenue begins to come in. But, Hartnett said, that fund has never been so low.
"The problem with borrowing is we have to pay it back," Hartnett said. "I really find it incredible we're still bleeding red ink."
Joan Spencer, board administrator, said once the full amount due is paid as bills come in, the inheritance fund will have a balance of $69,488.
Jerry Johnson of G.A. Construction, the construction manager for the jail project, told the county last week that the $137,000 will cover everything outstanding and that any problems will be fixed under warranty.
The cost overruns were on items such as covering the sprinkler system feeder pipes and adding a heater to keep pipes in the sallyport from breaking. Others were for safety items, commissioners said.
Although sales tax revenue for repaying the bonds is ahead of projections, it may not be used to pay capital costs for the jail if they exceed the $7.025 million approved by voters, according to South Sioux City Administrator Lance Hedquist. The city lent its taxing authority for the jail in a first-of-its-kind arrangement in Nebraska after voters thrice turned down property tax financing for a jail.
Federal rescue?
When the jail bond was passed, the county was paying about $1 million a year to board its overflow prisoners elsewhere. One selling point in the referendum was that any extra jail beds could be leased to federal agencies such as the Immigration Customs Enforcement, U.S. Marshal Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs, for holding their prisoners awaiting court dates in U.S. District Court in Sioux City. The agency would pay the county a daily fee for each prisoner according to a contract.
Commissioner Bill McLarty, who lobbied federal agencies for such contracts last week in Washington, D.C., said after the public hearing Monday that progress is being made.
McLarty said the U.S. Marshal Service wants to contract for a year with the county to make 25 beds available, a number which can be raised at the discretion of the local office. He said the county is just waiting for the contract to be signed in Washington.
McLarty said the BIA representative he met with said that agency will give the county as many prisoners as it can handle. However, ICE would only commit to three to five days at a time and was not interested in a contract. On Monday, the jail held seven federal prisoners.
He said he didn't know what the per diem will be, but believes it could be $80 a day.
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Robert wrote on May 1, 2007 3:23 PM: