Warren County’s jail is not only outdated, but unsafe and structurally deficient.
Voters will decide this spring whether to approve a 3/4% sales tax referendum that would allow the county to build a modern and secure law enforcement center.
While other counties are looking to replace or update facilities that are 50 or 60 years old, the building that houses the Warren County jail and sheriff’s office is more than a century old.
The front part of the building in downtown Monmouth was built in 1873 as a home for the sheriff and his family.
The cell blocks were added on to the back of the sheriff’s home in 1915.
“You’re looking at an infrastructure in the jail that’s in very bad shape. The pipes and the catwalks are very rusty and old. You almost don’t want to disturb them for repairs for fear of breakage,” said Sheriff Martin Edwards.
Safety problems
An engineering study showed the building is under considerable stress.
For instance, Edwards said if you drop a marble in the building, it will roll to the center of the floor.
There are also rotten pipes, HVAC and electrical issues, an archaic security system, and cell block doors that don’t always close securely.
A host of other safety issues include correctional officers having to transport people in custody up a flight of stairs.
Edwards said that can be dangerous when a subject is combative, under the influence, or suffering from mental health issues.
“Once they’re in the cell blocks, there’s nothing but steel and concrete, and so again, in situations where you’re trying to put somebody under control, there’s a lot of peripheral hazards with that,” he said.
Space and segregation
Inadequate space is also a concern.
The top bunks were cut out to be compliant with state regulations, so only 22 beds remain for housing those awaiting trial and convicted offenders.
There’s little privacy for interviewing victims or suspects, and difficulty segregating the population by offense or status.
“We can’t segregate our men from the women so we’ve had to send them to other jails,” Edwards said.
Women are housed at the Mercer County jail for $42 a day, costing the county upwards of $4,000 a month.
With no safe room or padded cell, people with behavior or mental health issues are also sent to other jails.
Citizens Advisory Committee
The county formed a Citizens Advisory Committee in 2019 to address the jail situation.
Former State’s Attorney Chip Algren serves as the committee’s chair.
He said the jail has been a serious concern dating back at least to the mid-1980s, and if something isn’t done soon, the state could close it.
“If it gets shut down, we’re losing jobs in the county, and our tax dollars are going to go to a different county,” he said.
The committee determined repairs to the jail would cost more than building a new one.
In addition, the state would not allow expansion at the current site because Immaculate Conception School is on the next block.
Funding a new jail
The price tag for a proposed modern and secure law enforcement on Industrial Park Drive in Monmouth is $16.2 to $18.6 million.
The facility would be on a six-acre tract near U.S. Route 34 and other public safety operations in Monmouth, including the fire department, OSF Holy Family Medical Center, and ambulance service.
It would have 40 to 60 beds.
Algren said the county has earmarked $2 million in federal COVID money for the project.
The rest would be funded by the 3/4% sales tax increase, if Warren County voters approve the referendum.
Algren said there’s widespread support for the sales tax increase because of the dire need for a new jail.
It’s been endorsed by the Warren County Republican Committee, Warren County Democratic Committee, Warren County Crime Stoppers, the Warren County Bar Association, and other groups.
Algren said a sales tax increase spreads out the burden.
“Under a property tax, the burden is resting solely on property owners,” Algren said. “Through a sales tax increase, everybody pays, everybody helps on the project.”
Some exemptions
If the referendum passes on April 4, the added sales tax would be collected starting Jan. 1, 2024.
But there are some exemptions.
The added sales tax wouldn’t apply to sales of farm equipment, vehicles, basic groceries, prescription and non-prescription drugs, and other medical supplies for diabetics.
For eligible items, the tax would add 75 cents to a $100 purchase.
After three years that would generate $3 million to add to the federal COVID money.
“So we’d end up with, effectively, a $5 million down payment,” Algren said. “At that point, bonds would be issued for the remaining money and construction would start.”
Then the sales tax increase would remain in place to cover the annual debt service on the bonds.
Not a permanent tax
Algren said it’s very likely the debt would be paid off within twenty years.
Once it is, the county says the sales tax increase would be repealed.
The referendum itself sunsets the tax increase at 25 years if not terminated earlier.
Edwards said the referendum is about safety – and supporting law enforcement.
“Not me, but the deputies and the corrections officers that work here. The ones that are out there day and night doing this job,” Edwards said. “We need the tools to do it, and we need the facility to do it. To do our job safely. Not only that but to hold the people here safely.”
Current sales tax rates
The sales tax rate in the county at large is currently 7.25%. That includes the state’s 6.25%, plus a 1% county schools facilities tax.
So in the county, the increase would bump the sales tax rate to 8% for eligible purchases.
In Monmouth, the city also collects a 2% home rule sales tax, so the overall sales tax rate would increase to 10% for eligible purchases if the referendum passes.
There is also an additional 1% business district sales tax only for the Love’s Travel Stop in Monmouth.
It was established as an economic development incentive to fund the infrastructure improvements that allowed the business to open.
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