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Future of Paulding County jail operation up to the voters

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By LISA NICELY

nicely@crescent-news.com

PAULDING -- The future of the new Paulding County jail's operation is up to the voters.

A 1.5-mill levy, representing a renewal and increase, for operating the county jail is on the Nov. 6 ballot. County officials say the five-year levy is necessary to continue to operate the new jail effectively.

Commissioner Martin Harmon and Sheriff Dave Harrow both say it is extremely important to pass the levy at this time.

With the increase, the levy would generate an estimated $441,058 annually. That means the owner of a home valued at $100,000 would pay approximately $52 annually, according to the county auditor's office.

"We had the .75-mill levy in place five years ago," said Harmon, adding that that money funds a lot less than it did five years ago. "We see a lot of added expense. It's not taking care of what we need to take care of now, especially with new requirements in order to operate the jail. We really need the extra .75-mill."

Harrow said that without the levy's passage, extra strain will most likely be placed on the county's general fund to make up for the difference in funding.

"I think it is very important (the levy passes) not only for the sheriff's office and jail but the county as a whole," he said. "If it (the jail operations) is not tax supported it would be more expensive to outhouse prisoners. If we don't have money to pay for staffing we wouldn't have a jail."

Voters originally approved a five-year, .75-mill levy for operation and maintenance of the new jail in November 2002. That levy, which generates $220,000 annually and expires at the end of this year, also represented the required local 10 percent match for a $1.82 million grant from the Ohio Bureau of Adult Detention (BAD) that financed most of the renovations to the jail building.

Revenue from this levy has been saved in an account for operations and maintenance of the new jail located on Perry Street in Paulding. Money was used to train law enforcement personnel for when the jail opened in May as well as operation since then.

In November 2006, county voters defeated the renewal of the .75-mill levy.

"We do know we can last a short time (with those funds)," said Harmon. "We realize down the road, in the next year or so, we will be short on funding to take care of what we need to."

Harrow said voters also need to realize that costs to operate the jail have gone up quite a bit since the levy was passed in 2002. He said the cost of operation is twice what was anticipated for many reasons including that BAD decided the jail could not have a combined central control/dispatcher position.

"They said we have to have central control back in the jail 24 hours a day," he said, "which required five more full-time personnel. In that five years, costs have gone up for everything. The cost of personnel and cost of health care insurance, which is a benefit the county has to pay, have increased."

Harmon said the commissioners haven't discussed what will happen if the levy does not pass this time around.

"We may look at a special election in spring," he said. "Right now we're really concentrating on getting it passed. I think we'll be in fine shape in the next five years if it does. I think things will be pretty well in order."

Harrow also said he has examined in detail what would happen if the levy fails.

"Certainly there will be changes initiated and ways to reduce costs, but I don't know if it can be done in the jail," he said, stressing the levy's importance. "It's the only reasonable way to finance the jail operations. Nobody likes to pay more taxes, including myself, but with that said everyday we're demanding more services and it costs money."