Friday, December 9, 2005

Courts to decide jail financing plan


By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer

A county plan to finance a proposed $9.5 million public safety facility with a loan package will now get judicial review.

The Blaine County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Tuesday a petition for judicial review in hopes that a loan program will be confirmed in 5th District Court in January.

Because Idaho code restricts governments from carrying debt from one fiscal year into the next, the county initially sought court approval of a plan to fund a new jail through a series of one-year leases.

More recently, the county has been relying on a provision in the Idaho Constitution that authorizes governments to borrow money without voter approval when the funding is designated for an "ordinary and necessary expense," said bond counsel and Boise resident Michael Moore. "The original plan or thought was this would be a lease-purchase arrangement whereby the county would enter into a yearly-renewable lease. After further analysis and pretty extensive discussion with the commissioners, commissioners determined that this fit more into the 'ordinary and necessary expense' category than as an annually renewable lease."

The county is planning to build a new public safety facility south of downtown Hailey near Friedman Memorial Airport. The facility would house a new 86-bed jail, as well as a new sheriff's office and emergency dispatch center. County voters approved the plan through a ballot measure.

Several community members, including former County Commissioner Mary Ann Mix, debated the validity of the effort at the brief public meeting on the issue.

"The wording and the (public relations) for the advisory ballot was misleading in that the perception left the voter with the understanding the county had the necessary funds with which to construct this project. But, this perception is not the case," Mix said.

In a presentation to commissioners at the end of November, Sheriff Walt Femling explained that according to his latest financial assessment, the new facility is designed for the future needs of the county into the year 2025, at an annual cost of just under $600,000 per year. Over a 20-year period the annual sum would cover operations at the new jail and service the debt for construction if the proposed loan scenario receives judicial approval.

Under Femling's proposed plan, the annual debt burden for the county would be $700,000. Femling said 70 percent of the total jail budget, including the cost of construction, would be funded through sources other than property taxes.

Public facilities like a jail are typically funded through bond elections approved by voters, but such efforts have failed previously in Blaine County.

Mix also expressed concerns about the size of the proposed dispatch center, now planned to be 800 square feet, down from 3,000 square feet. Mix alleged that the move is an effort to bring the dispatch center under the sheriff's control and not a cost saving measure. Mix also raised questions about Femling's consulting work for Rocky Mountain Corrections, alleging a conflict of interest for the publicly elected official. Mix said jail issues should be more clearly stated and put before voters again.

Former Blaine County Commissioner Len Harlig, in a letter submitted to the commission, also asked that jail funding be brought forward as a bond vote.

The commissioners allayed concerns that the jail facility itself would be in any violation of Hailey zoning as a future Airport West property, explaining that the plan had been reviewed by the Hailey Planning and Zoning Commission.

Commissioner Dennis Wright said it would be up to the court to decide the legality of the funding plan, adding that the county would live with whatever decision is made.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.