Yellowstone County is proposing a bond and levy to fund expansion of the overcrowded county jail.
Yellowstone County will ask voters in November to pass a $175 million bond and a $20 million levy to renovate and expand the county jail. That adds up to approximately 180 dollars extra a year for a household worth $300,000. The request addresses long-time overcrowding at the jail, which according to the county is over capacity by at least 200 people on a regular basis.
Dave Iron sat on an advisory group that helped put the proposal together. He said at a Tuesday meeting of the Yellowstone County Commission that this expansion will help relieve pressure from the local justice system, which because of capacity issues releases some prisoners in order to move others in.
“And I want to compliment the county attorney’s office, the jailers, the judges, who have to make that horrible decision on a daily basis and have someone exit the jail who should really be there, but because of our overcrowding cannot be there,” said Iron.
The county had previously been considering building another jail. The advisory group helped scale it down to the expansion instead, which will add 320 beds and additional services.
A public hearing for the bond and levy is scheduled for Tuesday March 31 at 9am.
