The DeKalb County Commission faced some questions from the public last week following the Jail Committee’s recommendation to build a judicial center rather than a jail, once a suitable site and funding are secured. Some citizens are asking why the facility is needed.
During the DeKalb County Commission’s Meeting of the Whole on Tuesday, November 21, County Mayor Matt Adcock asked if there were any public comments. Two residents from the 4th District, on Coconut Ridge, Deborah Ball and Beth Shelton spoke up.
Though the recommendation by the Jail Committee, or how the project will be funded, has not been voted on by the full commission, Ball said she is opposed to a wheel tax for such a project and questioned why a wheel tax would not be designated for road improvement.
“I am fairly new to this community,” Ball said. “We’ve been here almost five years. My concern and I’m trying to figure out how this works is a wheel tax being proposed for a new jail considering the road I live on needs major repairs that could be done.”
“The roads further down from my house on Coconut Ridge are horrible. I had 10 or maybe a dozen cement trucks right in front of my house the other day going back and forth on that road, so that is my concern about a wheel tax. I don’t understand why things are not already being taken care of in those respects. Isn’t a wheel tax for taking care of issues regarding roads? What does a wheel tax do?” Ball asked.
“A lot of those roads as far as that subdivision you (Ball) are talking about are private roads and not the county’s responsibility,” answered Commissioner Tony Luna.
Ball then asked if the citizens would be allowed to vote on any proposed wheel tax. “I’m just trying to understand, are we going to get to vote on that project as citizens of this county and if not, how do we propose to get to do that,” asked Ball. “I’m not sure putting $50 million in that project is a good idea. Not trying to be rude, just as a citizen I am concerned about what is going on and I want to get involved in it.”
County Mayor Adcock explained the county’s options if it were to seek implementation of a wheel tax, saying the county commission could seek a private act for DeKalb County through the Tennessee General Assembly; the commission could authorize a public referendum to let the voters give a straight up or down vote on a wheel tax in a county general election; or the commission could adopt by a two thirds majority a resolution establishing a wheel tax on separate readings at two consecutive meetings and even then 10 percent of the local electorate casting votes in the last governor’s election could sign a petition (515 signatures needed) forcing the county’s hand to have a referendum on a wheel tax. In that case, the county could choose to repeal the wheel tax option altogether and vote the needed property tax increase to fund the project.
Ball and Shelton then inquired as to whether the county could establish an impact fee on new development, with the funds generated to go toward some project, perhaps a new jail or judicial center.
“We have checked into that with the County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) and learned that DeKalb County does not have the statutory authority to establish an impact fee,” said County Mayor Adcock.
Ball and Shelton then asked if builders could be assessed a fee upon obtaining a building permit, to which Adcock answered, “The county does not have its own building codes. The state does it for us.”
Mayor Adcock then explained the county’s predicament pertaining to a new jail or judicial center. “I don’t think we really want to build a jail. An agency called the Tennessee Corrections Institute inspects our jail and they have certification regulatory powers. They can say whether your jail is or is not certified. They have claimed that our jail has dilapidated to a point where it cannot pass any of the standards that TCI has for a county,” said Adcock.
“It is my understanding they (TCI) made recommendations five years ago and they came back this year and reevaluated. Were any (jail) repairs made within those five years,” asked Ball.
“They did a jail inspection in 2020 during COVID but when COVID happened it slowed the state down and they got more reasonable (about the standards) because everybody was dealing with a pandemic,” County Mayor Adcock explained. “After the pandemic eased, they (TCI) came back and said we are still serious about your situation”.
“Repairs is impossible,” Adcock continued. “It’s not repairable, but the part where we are failing in is because we don’t have enough square footage per prisoner. Part of their standards is we have to have so many square feet per prisoner and that is why our certifiable jail beds got cut from 102 down to 52 this summer. The regulations are so strict these days that it is upsetting but I get why they (TCI) wants to keep the inmates safe. Do we want to build a jail? No. Do we feel like we have to? Yes,” said Mayor Adcock.
“If our jail is not certified and something happens to an inmate it only takes one sly attorney to make a big fat lawsuit, and not only will we be sued, but if it goes to federal court the county could be ordered to build a jail to federal rather than state standards and it might be $80 million instead or $40 or $50 million. I would rather build it to our own standards than risk having a federal court tell us how to build it. That’s what the issue is. We (county commission and I) don’t want our property taxes to go up either or have a wheel tax because we have to pay them too,” said Mayor Adcock.
As for the location, Adcock said the commission’s hands are tied also. Unless a new jail is built in close proximity to the courthouse, Mayor Adcock said the sheriff’s department would have to transport prisoners back and forth from the jail to the courthouse every time court is in session. That could have an impact over time on the county budget in terms of fuel, personnel, vehicles, and other costs. Also, while a jail can be built outside the city, a judicial center, by law, must be inside the city limits of Smithville.
Mayor Adcock said a new revenue stream will be required to fund the facility through either a higher property tax rate, a wheel tax, or a combination of both.