Finances for a new jail should be put on the ballot

Letters: Finances for a new jail should be put on the ballot | MLive.com

The figure of $8 million in county savings for the jail has been all over the newspaper in the past year. So, $8 million that we as citizens and taxpayers don't exactly know where it came from (I would say at least some of it came from our pockets), and $8 million that the sheriff says is specifically earmarked for a new jail facility. That seems a little off, doesn't it?
The same people that make the decisions about the county budget have authority over the jail and have made decisions to put this money aside into a jail fund, can't make decisions to use this funding to maintain the current jail facility? No wonder the jail is in its current dilapidated and neglected state. The county "can't" (I think won't) spend the money necessary to maintain a decent and livable jail, but can justify the need for a new, more expensive one after the current facility is deemed almost unfixable? The thing is, the $8 million that the county has saved for the jail isn't going to be near enough for the new plan.

Where is the county possibly going to get the around $40 million more that is needed for a new facility? Our pockets. Whether they ask us or not.Right now the county plans to finance the new jail with some sort of increase in taxes that hasn't been made public yet, and they hope won't be made public until it's already set in stone. They plan to decide on using taxpayer money in a backroom deal without asking the taxpayers, without getting voter approval.If you're concerned about the County using public money for a public facility without asking the public, please call your county commissioner and demand that they put the financing mechanism for a new jail on the ballot.

NELL SCHAEFER/Muskegon