Commissioners held their second public hearing Wednesday, during which many residents expressed the levy should be put on the ballot. Several community members who attended the first meeting July 24 were also in favor of placing the levy on the ballot.
“I think, at this point, putting it on a ballot is a great idea for a couple reasons. It’s an opportunity to test the waters. It’s also an opportunity to start getting the word out (on) what this is all about and what this means for not only the city of Springfield, but our entire county,” said Diana Daniels.
Clark County’s current sales tax is 7.25%, which includes the state sales tax of 5.75% and the county sales tax of 1.5%. This ballot measure would increase the sales tax to 7.75%
Public safety, deputy recruitment
Resident Jack Oliver said he thinks the levy should go to the ballot because, although he doesn’t think it will pass, it will inform people of the issue for the next election.
Bill Agle, who is on the Clark County Fairgrounds board, said he’s in favor of the levy and feels a sales tax is the fairest way to do it.
“I think we definitely need the space to make everyone accountable,” Agle said. “I’m very much in support of it. We did something at the fair this year that made the fair much safer. I think we could do similar things in Springfield to make it much safer, and this jail’s the starting point that we have to have to be able to.“
John Maurer looks at needing a new jail from a different perspective — to be able to build “the best sheriff’s department” through better training facilities and programming.
“It’s going to make an environment for (the sheriff) to be able to recruit deputies. Our sheriff has got to get this department in a position to attract these young deputies to have them come to Clark County,” he said. “You have to incarcerate people, but we need to help get them out and keep them out. We just need the facilities to do it.”
An ongoing need
A new public safety building is something the county has needed since 2017, Commission President Sasha Rittenhouse previously said.
The safety building includes the county jail, and the proposed sales tax for a new detention center would replace this building.
“The costs have continued to grow exponentially in my opinion, but they’re going to continue to go up. That’s why the ask is being made now,“ Rittenhouse said.
Building a public safety facility is never going to get cheaper, and its costs are only going to go up, according to Rittenhouse.
”We can continue kicking the can and look for other funding methods, which we have been doing, or we can say let’s try this option because we need to get the ball rolling now or it’s just going to cost us more down the road,” Rittenhouse said.
Costs for a new facility are estimated at $100 million. If the levy passes, county officials think they can at least get $15 million from the state to help, along with the $2 million they have in reserves. The 0.5% sales tax increase will give the county $10 million a year.
Project costs include a $77 million construction cost, $16.5 million for professional services (architects, project management, etc.), a $4.1 million contingency and $2.3 million for site acquisition and preparation.
A location has not been identified yet, but officials are working through different ideas in the city of Springfield, said County Administrator Jenny Hutchinson. The location would need to be about 10-20 acres because the building would be one level. The county would need that acreage to have different inmate pods, training facilities for deputies and administrative offices. The building would be between 135,000- to 140,000-square feet.
The current sales tax is 7.25% and could go up to 7.75% if the levy is passed. Examples of what a 0.5% sales tax increase could be on include things such as Tide detergent (seven cent increase), a vehicle ($200 increase) and school supplies like glue sticks (one cent increase).
Why a sales tax increase
Things that are exempt from sales tax include groceries, prescription drugs, certain medical items, medical equipment, agricultural products and manufacturing equipment, baby products and others.
“Sales tax is actually the method that the commissioners are looking at, and they feel it’s a fairer way to look at it because it’s paid on all goods and services within the community. Even people coming in for tourism are subject to that sales tax, so it’s a broader public body that is paying for this,” Hutchinson said.
If the levy doesn’t pass, the county will not be meeting jail standards. The county could try bringing the levy before voters again in the spring, but the county may have to cut services.
Feasibility of a new jail vs. renovating old jail
Other ideas on how to address the jail problems would still be costly, officials said.
The county could consider renovating the existing building or build a smaller jail, but that could still be a future issue given the current jail cannot fit everyone.
The county could look at incarcerating some individuals outside of Clark County in other county jails, but that would also cost more money.
A feasibility study was initially performed by DLZ in 2018 and updated in 2023. It created a report analyzing the attainability of building a new jail and public safety building, finding that a new jail would cost around $100 million now. In 2018, the study estimated a $35 million cost for renovations and a $55 million cost for a new facility.
In early 2024, officials started discussing construction of a new jail and public safety building to replace the downtown location that’s struggled for years to meet state standards. That year, the jail was found in noncompliance with 16 standards, with officials reporting they could not comply with many of them unless and until a new building is constructed.
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