Bannock Co. modifies jail bond; drops 100 beds but proposes crisis center
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POCATELLO — Pocatello voters will decide yet again this week whether or not they want to expand the Bannock County Jail.
The last time voters had a chance to make a decision on the jail was in May 2016. At that time, county commissioners presented an $18 million bond. The bond has now been modified to $16 million.
Sheriff Lorin Nielsen said the original bond called for a 250-bed expansion in the jail along with other maintenance work.
Nielsen tells EastIdahoNews.com he didn’t feel the bond passed the first time because the proposal’s focus was on the expansion. He said the new commissioners and the community have come together to look at the overall issue of criminals, mental health treatment and recidivism rates.
“I think we concentrated only on raising more jail beds and not looking at the overall problem of criminals and things that the jail has been used for,” Nielsen said.
Nielsen said along with the lower bond, 100 beds have been cut from the proposal but a 24-hour crisis center and a transition center have been added.
Nielsen is excited the bond includes more than just adding beds. He said his deputies aren’t trained as mental health advisors but they are often called on to deal with those types of situations.
“As long as I have been a cop, jails have been used to house mentally ill inmates when there’s no room to house them. They’ve been used to house addicted people when there’s no other room to place them,” Nielsen said. “We’re here to protect society from bad guys.”
The bond will also take care of upgrades and maintenance in the existing jail. Nielsen said some of the issues are plumbing and electronic, which include the locks, security cameras, and heating and air.
The $16 million bond will increase property taxes by $2.28 per for every $200 thousand of taxable value and needs a 66.7 percent supermajority to pass.
Voters last day to make the decision is on Nov. 7.