The new addition will ultimately triple the bed space in the jail, address officer safety and allow space for inmate classification, the three main areas of concern at the current jail.

While the cost of the addition is a lot of money, it will not require any tax increases and will not impact the general budget. The debt will be paid with existing revenues already in place and going to the debt fund.

District Attorney, Russ Johnson, and some others on the jail committee were proposing annother litigation tax of up to $50 on all court cases to provide additional funding. Johnson's proposal was defeated by a 7-3 vote of the commission.

After several years of debate and discussion, construction of the new addition will be getting underway as soon as possible with a completion date expected to be in the fall of 2019.