Jail Sales Tax Ballot Issue Information

Why is this being introduced on the ballot?

The current Lawrence County Jail struggles to meet the standards set by the State of Ohio, limiting the ability to meet our needs. Currently, inmates are transported to and from distant county jail facilities in a shuffle to create space for newly incarcerated inmates and those returning for court appearances. The cost of these services to the county is paid for from the general fund – largely by way of property taxes.

Lawrence County Jail Sales Tax Round Table

The Lawrence County Commissioners invited the County Auditor and staff from of the Sheriff’s Department to discuss the upcoming Jail Sales Tax Ballot Issue and address frequent questions they have been receiving recently.

This isn’t news to many as the need for a new jail facility has been discussed for many years. However, recent scrutiny of our jail facility at the state level has provided the county a unique window of opportunity to correct the county jail issue.

First, to help Lawrence County, the State of Ohio has offered a one-time grant in the amount of $16.8 million to offset the construction of a new jail facility. This will address current overcrowding and safety issues for decades to come. A new jail costs around $32 million and will reduce overcrowding entirely while creating a safer environment for our local law enforcement.

Second, to avoid raising property taxes, we are taking advantage of a new opportunity in state law that allows voters to pass a sales tax to finish funding the construction and fully fund future operations of a new county jail. A sales tax is one that everyone, even out-of-state travelers, contributes to, and is not likely an amount that will disrupt the daily lives of county residents. Especially since groceries are not taxed in the State of Ohio.

With the new sales tax, if someone buys soap for 4 dollars in Lawrence County it would contribute 2 cents toward the county jail fund. The Commissioner’s Office projects the Jail Sales Tax will generate over 3 million dollars annually when taking into consideration the millions of purchases made in Lawrence County every year by residents and people passing through from other states.

Proposed Sales Tax Specifics:

• A new opportunity presented in Sub-House Bill 110 allows for counties to vote on new sales tax to fund county jails
• Half-percent sales tax to complete funding the construction of a new county jail, fund the operations budget, and avoid raising property taxes
• Does not apply to groceries
• Does not apply during state-wide sales tax free holidays – these typically occur before a new school year begins

New Jail Specifics:

• 150 male beds
• 50 female beds
• 3 counseling offices
• 4 classrooms
• Inmate population separation to increase security
• Potential Location:  Former Lombard School lot on Lorain Street, Ironton

The County Jail Sales Tax will:

1. Eliminate out-of-county inmate housing and transportation costs

Housing inmates in other counties is costing Lawrence County nearly a million dollars per year and the costs are rising. Lawrence County’s current jail was built 50 years ago to house 52 inmates. Today’s jail standards reduce that capacity to 27 inmates. The current average number of inmates is nearly 5 times that, forcing the county to house inmates in jails as far away as Butler, VanWert, Morrow, and Monroe counties, just to name a few.

2. Support and Increase the safety of our local law enforcement officers

In addition to the cost of housing inmates in other counties, the Lawrence County Jail is also facing costs associated with the rising number of inmates. The jail is not equipped to deal with many of the mental health and drug-related issues that inmates have – adding strain to the safety of our local law enforcement officers. The new jail would offer isolation areas, treatment, and counseling for inmates, which will help address these issues and create a safer work environment for our law enforcement officers.

Currently, there is no dedicated private space to enact virtual arraignment/court appearances, and the percentage of women in the local incarcerated population has far exceeded the current jail’s design of handling such a ratio. This causes an even greater need for out-of-county housing, which is expensive and difficult to find as many other counties are in similar situations.

3. Address the demands on the county jail by state and local municipalities 

The increase in drug related crimes and the demand on counties to keep Felony 4’s and 5’s in the local jails has caused nearly every rural county to operate beyond capacity to handle the increase in local inmate populations.

What was once part of the state budget has now been shifted to local government, causing an even greater burden on county budgets to house these inmates.

4. Allow the county to use the one-time grant funds from the state before the offer is rescinded

Due to state-identified violations with our current county jail facilities, Lawrence County has been awarded a one-time $16.8 million dollar grant from the State of Ohio to aid in the construction of a new jail.  However, the estimated cost for a new jail is around $32 million, so the county still needs to find a way to fund the remaining cost of construction, as well as the cost to operate a new facility into the future.

The Jail Sales Tax will allow Lawrence County to obtain a loan to complete funding the construction of a new county jail, fund the operations budget, and avoid raising property taxes.