Yellowstone County is asking voters to OK a tax increase to expand the county jail and fund its operation.
The Yellowstone County Detention Facility has capacity for 434 people, but often fits hundreds more. On any given day, the actual number of inmates might be closer to 700, and county leadership says ongoing capacity issues disrupt not only jail operation, but every other county service that links into it, including the police and the courts.
They say it means longer processing times, more days in jail, fewer people behind bars who need to be there and less flexibility to respond to urgent needs when they pop up. This year, the county is asking for voters to fund a solution.
A $175 million 20-year construction bond and a $20 million annual operations levy would pay for the addition of 332 beds, new program spaces, staffing and operation of the larger jail. It would cost around $160 in annual fees for a home valued at $300,000 dollars and roughly $50 for a home valued at $100,000.
While voters in the county are traditionally supportive of public safety funding requests, it comes during a time of increased costs where some voters criticize the choice to direct county resources to the jail instead of social services or other community entities.
In 2025, the county added a 72-hour short term holding facility to the detention center while in the same year cutting more than two-thirds of the funding it historically granted to the Yellowstone Art Museum.
Billings resident Lane Dorsee spoke against the decision at a county commission meeting last fall.
“We have to remember where that budget is going,” said Dorsee. “It is going not for the betterment of our community, but to expand jails and further criminalize poor working class people in this city and in this county.”
According to Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito, expansion is long overdue. County leadership says the jail needs to expand not just to hold more people, but to be operational.
“We need a facility to be able to respond so we can protect the community,” said Twito. “It is the hub of the criminal justice system. It is the most important thing for public safety that we have, and we have to make sure it runs properly and is the right size.”
The last time the county asked voters to fund a jail expansion was 2015, and it failed. This time, the Billings Chamber of Commerce is helping run a privately-funded $300,000 campaign to reach voters before election day on November 3.
That includes ads, mailers and facility tours so that people can see the issue for themselves.Captain Brandon Smart explained to one tour group on a recent weekday afternoon that limited space also means limited flexibility in moving high-security inmates around.
"If anyone read in the paper about the arrest in Laurel about the high-notoriety sex offender, that's him,” said Smart. “He's out literally talking with his attorney in a hallway because we don't have anywhere to meet with his attorney.”
Captain Brandon Smart is optimistic about the chances of voters saying yes to the bond and levy, even though it comes during a time when a lot of people are pinching pennies.
"[I] try to be positive. You gotta be where I work.” said Smart. “I think it's gonna happen. I don't like the alternative.”
