Jail Expansion

In 2019, those on the QC (essentially the same people serving now) voted AGAINST a proposed tax to support the expansion of the Washington County jail. In 2020, a global pandemic created a health hazard never before seen for our country. Between March and June of the same year the jail population was reduced by more than 50% through collaborative effort with local law enforcement, judges, and attorneys. ​A study was funded at a cost of $60,000 to provide ideas on relief that did not include expansion. The results were more than 120 pages. Unfortunately, those collaborative efforts to release non-violent criminals did not become normal operating procedure and throughout the course of the pandemic the population climbed back to pre-pandemic levels. The QC never implemented or considered a single recommendation from the study, to this day.

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At this point, the federal government has authorized the release of millions of dollars in funding for our community and the Republican lead Quorum Court began attempts to use that funding to expand our jail. The Democratic members routinely argued that this use was likely illegal, meaning not an approved use and would require repayment, and the Republican super majority continued to push the issue forward until the federal government literally told us to stop. By this time, thousands of dollars were already committed to proposals and a contract was signed. Given the CARES funding was now clearly restricted the Republican lead QC has authorized a ballot initiative to give the people the choice on whether to engage in expansion. 

 

This initiative would create a new sales tax, which seems insignificant on the whole, but also does not include ongoing operational support plans for the new jail facilities it would pay for. The assumption is that the tax would become permanent, continuing the trend of Washington County as the highest tax county in the state of AR. 

 

Special Notes:

• The population includes a more than significant population of individuals waiting for trial, meaning they have not been deemed guilty and are simply unable to meet the demands of our unscheduled bail process. 

•  A tragic incident involving a local officer named Kevin Apple is oft cited as a failure of the release process for Covid-19, justifying the cost of expansion. This is a blatant effort to manipulate public emotion into support but the reality is that years long avoidance of population issues combined with unregulated bail process created a situation that was inflamed by the pandemic. The effort to leverage this situation for political gain is a disservice to the officer, his family, and our community at large and ignores the charges in both Washington and Benton counties. 

• The expansion would not produce a single new bed for at least three years. When asked what we do in the meantime, JP Butch Pond told me directly, "Let them suffer."