Perry County sales tax fails

Perry County voters rejected a three-eighths-cent sales tax to fund a $3.5 million project to repair and remodel the county jail and sheriff's office.

The final results were 1,230 no votes to 1,188 yes votes.

"I am, of course, disappointed that it failed but encouraged by the slim margin," said Sheriff Gary Schaaf. "It almost made it."

Schaaf said work would need to be done this year regardless. He will meet with the county commission in a few weeks to come up with a plan.

"We will still have to find some way to fund numerous repairs and upgrades necessary in the building, but it will now have to come out of existing revenues, most likely at the expense of some other service we could have been providing," he said.

The jail's flat roof allows water to build up and leak through the ceiling tiles and light fixtures. Schaaf said the roof needs to be redesigned for better drainage. He doesn't know how much that will cost yet.

The four air-conditioning and heating units are old and costly to maintain. New units will cost $10,000 to $15,000 each. Schaaf said he will have to replace one or two of them for now.

The other problem that will require immediate attention is the jail's control panel that indicates whether the doors are locked. Only one lighted switch out of 40 works, and replacements parts are no longer available for the unit. Right now the doors have to be checked manually. A new control panel costs more than $100,000, plus installation.

Schaaf was hoping to incorporate all those repairs into the expansion proposal.

The expansion plan included a 20-bed housing pod, an eight-bed dorm, extra holding cells, an administration addition, squad room offices, a bathroom and basement storage.

Increasing the capacity of holding cells will eventually be necessary to improve security by creating a smaller inmate-to-staff ratio so inmates can be divided into smaller, more manageable units.

Last year, the average daily inmate count was 43, with the highest number being 63. In 2005, the daily inmate count was 44, with the highest number at 58. Right now the capacity of the jail allows 40 inmates to have a bunk.

Schaaf said he thinks a rainstorm may have caused people to stay home instead of vote.

tkrakowiak@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137