By Jim Ferolie jferolie@adamspg.com April 14, 2022
JANESVILLE
The largest, most complicated project in the history of Rock County is on the way to groundbreaking this summer.
Supervisors voted 24-1, with four absent, on Thursday to borrow $78 million over the next three years to build a new jail and law enforcement facility on the same site as the current Pinehurst facility, then tear down the existing one after move-in.
The vote had been postponed from three weeks earlier, when nine members of the board were absent. The absences meant getting the three-fourths vote needed to amend the county’s capital borrowing budget would have been impossible.
Most of the 40-minute discussion on the jail items was not on the merit of the jail itself or the cost but rather the impact of an amendment to reduce borrowing by redirecting $31 million of sales tax revenue to the project over the next 20 years.
Supervisors had authorized a $6 million architect budget for the proposal a year earlier, and after extensive adjustments with a construction manager, the cost came in within the intended $96 million scope. Some supervisors wondered if the fast-rising cost of construction and the possibility of change orders might push it beyond that figure, but facilities manager Brent Sutherland assured them he was comfortable with the numbers.
“It really comes down to construction management performance,” he said. “We’ve got $6 million of contingencies built in now.”
The resolution and budget amendment will allocate $96 million in funding toward renovations and construction of a 200,000-square-foot complex over the next three years, including a proposed $23 million for the rest of 2022. Included in the work will be the sheriff’s office, a new jail, and office space for law enforcement services and other services aimed at meeting needs of employees and the jail population.
While much of the focus of the project is replacing the jail, chief deputy Craig Strouse said its scope is broader than that. The new complex would include more dedicated spaces to address mental health issues, substance-abuse rehabilitation programs and indoor-outdoor spaces to enable more inmates to “get some fresh air,” as he put it.
Sales tax amendment
The big discussion point for supervisors was an amendment by Supervisor Mary Mawhinney to divert $4 million of sales taxes over the next three budget years to reduce borrowing to $78 million, then earmark $1 million in sales tax revenue annually over the following 19 years for debt service.
That amendment got slightly less support than the jail funding itself, passing 22-3.
A county spreadsheet provided in supervisors’ packets showed the tax impact on an average, $150,000 home would drop from $55 annually to $38.50. But some supervisors misread the chart, and others had concerns it might handcuff financial planning.
Supervisor Danette Rynes of Edgerton asked how much sales tax the county has available each year.
“I just don’t want to strap us to save $17 a year on an average-price home,” Rynes said.
County Executive Josh Smith explained that about half of the county’s $15 million from its statutorily defined half-cent sales tax goes to operations, leaving about $8 million a year for capital projects.
“You’re right to ask; there will be an effect,” Smith said. “There might be tradeoffs with how we fund other things. We’re fortunate we’ve invested a lot in highway projects the past several years.”
Borrowing impact
Supervisor Yuri Rashkin of Beloit called the sales tax amendment a “solution in search of a problem,” though his understanding of a $3 annual savings on the average home was later corrected to $17, or close to one-third of the total.
Smith noted that thousands of residents live on Social Security and that the initial $55 increase would eat up about one-fourth of a Social Security recipient’s typical $250 annual bump.
Rynes also asked for clarity on the impact on a home years from now, when its value is double or triple what it is now. Smith said essentially, that $55 a year would not be rising with the cost of the home.
District 10 Supervisor Louis Peer asked about the impact on the county’s bond rating, and Smith responded that in addition to the county already “punching above our weight” and being unlikely to increase its bond rating, financial advisers indicated this long-term borrowing wouldn’t have a measurable negative effect.
Support for the jail
The little discussion about the jail was positive, in addition to one resident’s emailed remarks indicating support.
Supervisor Ron Bomkamp of Janesville called it “well overdue” and noted that the current facility is about 100 years old.
“That’s $1 million a year, if you look into the future; that’s pretty reasonable for a building,” he said. “The building is falling apart. We’re trying to get personnel to work there; if they do a walkthrough and they look at another department and saw what other departments are looking at, it’d be an easy choice to go somewhere else.”
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