Iron County Jail GO Bond FOR Argument

The Iron County Jail, built in 1987, stands on the brink of crisis, threatening the safety of all residents of Iron County. With your support can this crisis be avoided.

Iron County urgently seeks $89,500,000 in bonding to construct a new jail and Sheriff's complex southeast of the airport. With your support, this new facility will be built by 2026, solving the short and long-term needs of our community for the next 50 years.

Due to limited space at the jail, law enforcement will make arrests only to find there is no room to house the criminals. They are forced to book them and then release them back into the public, jeopardizing the safety of Iron County residents. Many inmates are crammed into makeshift common areas converted into housing. The County is not able to expand the current jail to address the overcrowding concerns, nor is it built in a way that would be cost effective to do so.

Health, safety, and maintenance at the current jail have deteriorated to levels that would cost the County nearly $30,000,000 dollars to fix and still have a jail without enough capacity to serve the community. Sewage floods during heavy rains, turning the facility into a hazardous area. Wastewater lines, encased in concrete, are beginning to fail. The current state of the roof is in disrepair, threatening important computer and evidence storage areas. Red tape and practical constraints are holding us back from remodeling the jail, leaving us with limited solutions on how best to address the problem.

Our current jail has a limited capacity of 180 inmates, requiring us to return many criminals back into the community. The new jail will have room for 672 inmates. This vital expansion will not only meet our immediate needs but also provide an opportunity to generate revenue by housing contract prisoners. This additional income will help Iron County avoid further tax increases while ensuring our community's safety. The new jail may eventually be self-sufficient, allowing the county to offset future bond payments with this revenue. The goal of the county will be to use these revenues to pay down the bonds and once again bring Iron County back to one of the lowest-taxing counties in the state. When this process began 3 years ago, the price for the same size jail was nearly $25,000,000 less! This has been a nearly 25% increase in the total cost of the project. It is anticipated that these prices will continue to rise. If we act now, the anticipated cost to the average residential homeowner will be $12.75 per month. Iron County hopes this cost will be even less with the additional revenue it makes from housing other state inmates.

We believe this proposal is a crucial step forward for our county, addressing both immediate challenges and future growth while providing the best financial solution. Your vote in FAVOR of this bond will be a vote to ensure the well-being and safety of Iron County.