Jonesboro, AR– Citizens of Craighead county could see a new tax coming, if the voters approve it, for a new county jail.
In November, voters in Craighead County will vote on a half-cent sales tax increase which would expire in 8-years to assist in the expansion/build of the Craighead County Detention Center.
Marty Boyd, Craighead County Sheriff approached the Brookland City Council in the August 13th meeting, speaking on the proposed tax-increase. “Presently.. I’ll tell you our facility is 35 years old. Our floor plan is very inefficient, Boyd said.”
Sheriff Boyd told the council that the facility was built for 160 inmates, but they currently hold four-hundred. Boyd went on to explain, for that reason, has led them to hold a majority of those that commit felony crimes, not misdemeanors.
“It’s just to the point where we are a felony detention center only, It’s really has a negative effect on the misdemeanor justice system in Craighead county,” Boyd said when speaking to the Brookland City Council. “If someone’s shoplifting and a judge says ‘your going to have 10 days in jail’ there’s a lot of times I don’t have any space to put that person.”
Pictures and design have not been made as Boyd says it would cost 80k-100k to get that done and Boyd doesn’t “want to spend $100,000 in tax money, knowing that this may not pass.”
While Boyd does have ideas in mind, he spoke to the council about a proposed 750 beds, which he said they may not need in the immediate time-frame but in the future.
Boyd says if they were to decide to build another facility that they would push the facility closer to the road, as they own 88% of land, where the current jail stands.