County Commission Takes Questions from Public on Need for Jail or Judicial Center

November 22, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

A little more than a week after the county’s jail committee voted to recommend that a judicial center be built rather than a jail once property and funding are secured, the county commission is being questioned by the public on why even a new jail is necessary.

During a scheduled workshop referred to as a committee of the whole meeting Tuesday night, County Mayor Matt Adcock and the county commission took questions from two residents of the fourth district on Coconut Ridge, Deborah Ball and Beth Shelton.

Although the county commission has not decided on when to move forward on either a judicial center or jail nor a funding option (property tax increase or wheel tax) Ball said she is opposed to a wheel tax for such a project and questioned why a wheel tax would not be designated for road improvement.

“I am fairly new to this community. We’ve been here almost five years. My concern and I’m trying to figure out how this works is a wheel tax being proposed for a new jail considering the road I live on needs major repairs that could be done,” said Ball. “The roads further down from my house on Coconut Ridge are horrible. I had ten or maybe a dozen cement trucks right in front of my house the other day going back and forth on that road so that is my concern about a wheel tax. I don’t understand why things are not already being taken care of in those respects. Isn’t a wheel tax for taking care of issues regarding roads? What does a wheel tax do,” asked Ball?

“Pay for projects”, answered one of the commissioners.

“A lot of those roads as far as that subdivision you (Ball) are talking about are private roads and not the county’s responsibility,” answered Commissioner Tony Luna.

Ball then asked if the citizens would be allowed to vote on any proposed wheel tax for a judicial center or jail if and when a decision is made to move forward on the $40 or $50 million project.

“I’m just trying to understand, are we going to get to vote on that project as citizens of this county and if not, how do we propose to get to do that,” asked Ball. “I’m not sure putting $50 million in that project is a good idea. Not trying to be rude, just as a citizen I am concerned about what is going on and I want to get involved in it”.

County Mayor Adcock explained that the county has several options if it were to seek implementation of a wheel tax in some amount for this project. The county commission could seek a private act for DeKalb County through the Tennessee General Assembly. The commission could authorize a public referendum to let the voters give a straight up or down vote on a wheel tax in a county general election, or the commission could adopt by a two thirds majority a resolution establishing a wheel tax on separate readings at two consecutive meetings and even then 10% of the local electorate casting votes in the last governor’s election could sign a petition (515 signatures needed) forcing the county’s hand to have a referendum on a wheel tax. In that case, the county could choose to repeal the wheel tax option altogether and vote the needed property tax increase to fund the project.

Ball and Shelton inquired as to whether the county could establish an impact fee on new development with the funds generated to go toward some project, perhaps a new jail or judicial center.

“We have checked into that with the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) and learned that DeKalb County does not have the statutory authority to establish an impact fee,” said County Mayor Adcock.

Ball and Shelton then asked if builders could be assessed a fee upon obtaining a building permit.

“The county does not have its own building codes. The state does it for us”, he answered.

County Mayor Adcock then explained why the county needs to act on a new jail or judicial center.

“I don’t think we really want to build a jail. An agency called the Tennessee Corrections Institute inspects our jail and they have certification regulatory powers. They can say whether your jail is or is not certified. They have claimed that our jail has dilapidated to a point where it cannot pass any of the standards that TCI has for a county,” said Adcock.

“It is my understanding they (TCI) made recommendations five years ago and they came back this year and reevaluated. Were any (jail) repairs made within those five years,” asked Ball.

“They did a jail inspection in 2020 during COVID but when COVID happened it slowed the state down and they got more reasonable (about the standards) because everybody was dealing with a pandemic,” County Mayor Adcock explained. “After the pandemic eased, they (TCI) came back and said we are still serious about your situation”.

“Repairs is impossible,” Adcock continued. “It’s (jail) not repairable but the part where we are failing in is because we don’t have enough square footage per prisoner. Part of their standards is we have to have so many square feet per prisoner and that is why our certifiable jail beds got cut from 102 down to 52 this summer. The regulations are so strict these days that it is upsetting but I get why they (TCI) wants to keep the inmates safe”.

“Do we want to build a jail? No. Do we feel like we have to? Yes,” said County Mayor Adcock.

“If our jail is not certified and something happens to an inmate it only takes one sly attorney to make a big fat lawsuit and not only will we be sued but if it goes to federal court the county could be ordered to build a jail to federal rather than state standards and it might be $80 million instead or $40 or $50 million. I would rather build it to our own standards than risk having a federal court tell us how to build it. That’s what the issue is. We (county commission and I) don’t want our property taxes to go up either or have a wheel tax because we have to pay them too,” said County Mayor Adcock.

By a vote of 8-2-1 the county’s jail committee Tuesday night, November 14 voted to recommend to the full county commission that a new judicial center be built rather than a jail once a suitable site has been selected for the project. No decision has been made on a funding option or when the county should move forward.

After spending months weighing both options, the committee came to the conclusion that a judicial center would better meet the county’s needs than a new jail and perhaps be less costly in the long run.

Although the jail committee’s vote is only a recommendation, the county commission’s final decision on the option is predictable since the entire county commission makes up the jail committee.

Unless a new jail is built in close proximity to the courthouse, County Mayor Adcock said the sheriff’s department would have to transport prisoners back and forth from the jail to the courthouse every time court is in session and that could have an impact over time on the county budget in terms of fuel, personnel, vehicles, and other costs. That would not necessarily be the case if a judicial center is built, according to Adcock because the entire operation of the sheriff’s department, jail, and judicial system (courtrooms and clerks offices) would be in the same complex. And while a jail can be built outside the city, a judicial center, by law, must be inside the city limits of Smithville.

Steve Bates, the county’s fiscal agent/financial advisor said that the cost difference in building a jail versus judicial center initially is $10 million ($50 million for a Judicial Center or $40 million for a Jail). In either case, County Mayor Adcock said a new revenue stream would be required to fund it whether it be a higher property tax rate, the implementation of a wheel tax, or a combination of the two.

Before the vote Tuesday night, November 14, Bates outlined options for the jail committee to consider. Again, no decision has been made on a funding option or when the county should move forward.

JAIL ONLY
“What we are talking about is spending $40 million on the building and jail only. We are talking about doing 30-year fixed rate bonds and coming up with a funding source to raise enough money to amortize the debt. If its funded by property tax it would take about 33 cents on the property tax to debt service and 9 cents to the general fund (42 cents total) because of the additional operating expense of the jail”, said Bates.

Judicial Center PDF

JUDICIAL CENTER
“We’re talking about doing 30-year fixed rate bonds with another $10 million to build the courtrooms ($50 million total). The amortization to build the judicial center is 43 cents if you do just a property tax. So, you’re looking at 42 cents to build just the jail or 43 cents to build a judicial center. The thing about building a judicial center is the cost is fixed and once its paid off you’re done. You don’t have that with building a jail only because operating costs are more and will continue to go up,” said Bates.

Bates advised the jail committee to start thinking about how the county should fund the project and the sooner the better.

“You will need a full year’s collection if we issue bonds in fiscal 2024-25. You must have money start coming in to put in debt service. Your debt management policy says at a minimum you must have 80% of debt service requirement in your debt service fund. We only have about $2 million in debt service right now, so we will need more money,” said Bates.

“You don’t want to find yourself with a payment when you’re not going to get any new revenue for months later. That puts you behind the eight ball,” he added.

County Mayor Adcock and Bates said to fund the project without any property tax increase would require a $120 wheel tax, but no one is advocating that option in this amount.

According to County Mayor Adcock, the county’s justice committee has already recommended the Trainor company as architect for design purposes, and Bell Construction was selected as the management company should the county move forward. No contracts have yet been signed with these companies pending final approval by the county commission.

Aside from deciding how to fund the judicial center, is where to build it. County Mayor Adcock said the Peggy Hayes property (36.6 plus acres) on West Broad Street in Smithville seems to no longer be an option for the county because the parties can’t come to terms on a price. Adcock said the county had the Hayes property appraised at $1,485,000 but the owner wants $5.4 million for the entire site. The county is also looking at property (17 acres) in the Smithville Industrial Park off Highway 70 east. Adcock said he met with the industrial board last week to discuss the issue but the board hasn’t yet decided if it is willing to sell. Other possible locations have also been considered but so far, County Mayor Adcock said no one else has been willing to sell or commit to a deal with the county. Adcock also had County Attorney Hilton Conger at the meeting Tuesday night, November 14 to explain what the procedures are for imminent domain (condemnation) if the county were to choose that option on a particular piece of property.

Officials said that even when the property is identified and acquired, plans approved, and bonds issued, it could take up to three years before construction of a judicial center is completed.

November 21, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The Liberty and Alexandria Christmas parades will be on the same day but at different times on Sunday, December 3.

The Liberty Christmas Parade will be Sunday, December 3 starting at 2 p.m. Participants may line up at 1 p.m. on West Main Street. Awards will be presented in several parade categories with giveaways after the parade.

The Town of Alexandria Christmas parade will be a night parade again this year. It will be held on Sunday, Dec 3 at 5pm beginning on West Main Street and ending at the Town Square. There will be prize giveaways immediately following the parade at the Town Square. Participant forms are available at Alexandria Town Hall at 102 High Street or on the website at townofalexandria.us. Parade entries must be in by December 1. Remember to be illuminated to be seen.

November 21, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The burn ban for DeKalb County has been lifted by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Burn permits are still required to burn.

Online permits may be obtained daily from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. in Eastern and Central time zones (based on your location) for any size leaf and/or brush burn pile, as well as prescribed fires and broadcast burning, such as for forestry, agricultural, or land clearing applications. Each fire should be completely extinguished by the permit expiration. Residents with limited internet access may call the Division of Forestry burn permit phone number at 877-350-BURN (2876) Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Central. Callers may experience lengthy wait times when call volume is high, so online applications are encouraged.

Permits are required by the Division between October 15 to May 15 where local municipal restrictions do not apply.

Permits will be issued when the Division of Forestry determines conditions are safe for residents to burn debris.

Online Burn Permits: https://agriculture.tn.gov/OnlineBurnPermitPublic/Home/IndexPage2

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