By Leann Eckroth
Bismarck Tribune
BURLEIGH COUNTY — The Burleigh County Commission has scheduled a joint jail meeting with the Morton County Commission next Tuesday. Yet, it still has not settled how it wants to finance the jail - with a sales tax, a combination of sales tax and limited general obligation bond or a possible lease-purchase plan.
At the commission’s annual reorganization meeting Monday, Jerry Woodcox was named the new chairman and Commissioner Jim Peluso was named the vice chairman.
There appeared to be two camps on how to pay for a jail.
Woodcox and Commissioner Doug Schonert want a sales tax, which would require a home rule charter vote. County voters must approve a home rule charter before a county can impose a sale tax to pay for a jail.
Peluso and Commissioners Mark Armstrong and Brian Bitner mulled a lease-purchase plan. They also talked about blending a limited general obligation tax and a sales tax vote to pay for the jail.
The limited obligation vote allows the commission to raise property taxes up to 10 mills with only two-third of the commission vote. It would not need to be decided in an election, but it would require a 60-day period for protests. It would raise $3 million per year for a jail for up to 20 years.
With a lease-purchase plan, a private company could build the jail and lease it back to the county for ownership.
Woodcox objected to both because voters wouldn’t decide it. Schonert has pushed for a sales tax and home rule vote since this past fall.
County Auditor Kevin Glatt cautioned against using the limited obligation bond because it wouldn’t cover operation costs for a new jail.
Peluso said he had nothing against the sales tax, but there was a risk voters would not pass it and that would further delay building a new jail.
“If we do not pass a home rule charter, then we crash and burn,” he said. “Then we have no facility to put prisoners in. If we’re having problems now, what’s it going to be like in two years?”
Armstrong favored going with a lease-purchase agreement as Pierce County did for its jail.
“They funded through a lease purchase agreement arrangement. No vote was required. The borrower was the Rugby Jobs Association,” he said. “If we still want to take it further, go through the home rule charter and the 1-cent sales tax vote. Then you started an arrangement that we can start immediately.”
Woodcox said with a half-cent sales tax, the county could pay the jail off in five years. "(With) a lease purchase, you’re obligating the county for 20 years. (With) a bonding authority, you’re obligating the county for 20 years,” he said.
Sheriff Pat Heinert said the U.S. Marshal’s Office has contacted him about securing 30 beds at a new jail facility. He said it was possible that federal agency could front $5 million for a jail.
The jail would take between 2 to 21/2 years to build no matter what is used to pay for it, Heinert said. He was a little uncertain about the timeline for a lease arrangement, but said companies from Fargo and Minneapolis have contacted him about building the facility for the county with the county paying it back.
“If we can convince the Legislature to take over the Burleigh County Social Services, we’d have no trouble funding this thing,” Bitner said.
Commissioners said they want Morton County to know they will build a jail. The combined commission meeting will be held 5:15 p.m., on Jan. 15 at the City/County Building in Bismarck. Bismarck and Mandan city commissioners will be invited to attend.
A consultant’s study last summer suggested the two counties build a $50 million jail together. Both county jails are crowded and the counties must house the overflow in other jails.
Separately, the commission favored a safety initiative started by Heinert and County Engineer Marcus Hall to study how to lower safety risks on county-run roads. The study will look at both behavior problems with drivers and road improvements such as stop signs, rumble strips, lighting, possible roundabouts and infrastructure needs.
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