ADA COUNTY, Idaho — Ada County commissioners are moving forward with the construction of a new pod that will add 294 beds to the county jail, which is routinely overcrowded.
But because they're not seeking voter approval for the $44 million project, there's some controversy over how it's being funded.
On Tuesday, the commission voted on and approved a plan to lease $38 million to fund the pod. The funds will cover the main construction of the new facility and the remodeling of certain areas of the current jail.
The rest of the money will come from the county budget and will cover things like furnishments, equipment and the first lease payment for the loan, according to a post on the Ada County Sherriff's Office Facebook page.
Commissioners approved the issuance of annual appropriation of certificates of participation. The county will make annual payments on the pod for 30 years.
“The Ada County Jail hasn't had a significant number of bed increase since 2007-2008,” Chief Deputy Scott Johnson said. “We are simply out of beds right now.”
There's been a lot of growth in Ada County since it last added to its bed count. It’s to the point where people are sleeping on the floor on makeshift beds.
“I mean obviously when we're overcrowded, it’s very difficult to maintain the safety of our inmates,” Johnson said.
On Thursday, there were 865 people being housed in the jail. The jail population is lower than pre-pandemic levels, but the sheriff's office says they can't delay the project.
“Every year we push this out construction costs in this valley go up and it’s going to cost us even more money if we delay,” Johnson said.
Ada County Commissioner Diana Lachiondo is one of two commissioners who approved funding for the project. The other was Kendra Kenyon.
Basically, the county is entering into a lease for the building and must pay a lump sum each year. However, the county can opt-out after the first year for a variety of reasons. If commissioners opt-out, then the county loses the building and land.
“The structure is legally valid and has been blessed by the Idaho Supreme Court,” Lachiondo said.
The board is not going to the voters for approval of a long-term bond for debt. Under the Idaho Constitution Article 8 Section 3, it says counties and other governing bodies can't go into debt without two-thirds voter approval.
“There's been some kind of insinuation that we're skirting the constitution, and this is not legal, and it is just not true,” Lachiondo said. “We are not avoiding voter approval. We have carefully managed our budget to allow for the payment of annual lease payments out of our existing funds, we're not going out for a new bond.”
The fact that this isn't going out to the voters doesn't sit well with Patrick Malloy, the lone county commissioner to vote against the plan.
“The financing mechanism being utilized is deliberately complex,” he said.
Malloy told KTVB that while he believes this funding mechanism is legal, it detours around the voters.
“By some mechanism, it's owed back, so it is debt,” he said. “I want to ensure that if the voters have the obligation of a large amount of debt that they have the opportunity to voice their opinion on that.”
While there are different opinions on how to fund the project, all three commissioners agree the jail does need this new building.
“We feel like we've done everything we can to minimize the amount of people in the jail and we're still full,” Johnson said.
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