By Delaney Reaves, Eagle View News Editor

Benton County voters rejected two proposals to expand the current jail and to pay for operations of the larger facility.

This year’s ballot contained two proposals regarding the jail. The first proposal was an ⅛ cent sales tax to expand the jail’s capacity level for inmates. The second was a quarter cent sales tax that would have gone toward operations and maintenance for the jail.

The final vote going against the 0.25% sales tax was 62.45%, with only 37.55% voting for it. The second .125% sales tax had 63.40% against and 36.60% favoring the measure.

The overall, combined sales tax would have increased to 1.375%, the current Benton County sales tax is 1%, but would have changed on April 1, 2023 if the measures passed.

The first sales tax would have stopped in 16-18 years when the jail expansion process was finished, but Benton County Judge Barry Moehring hoped to have this done earlier than 16 years. The second sales tax would’ve started from the day it goes into effect in April and stay unless changed in the future.

Moehring said that when the Benton County Jail was constructed in the 1990s, the growth of the county was not estimated to be what it is today. The jail system now exceeds the capacity level for their inmates, which results in more misdemeanors and low level crimes happening without the offenders facing full consequences. The jail has to use the facilities they currently have for the most serious crimes and charges coming in.

Moehring confirmed that the Benton County Jail houses inmates from state prison and many are held until they are transferred elsewhere. With that being mentioned, he said that this is the part of the problem the jail is having but not the whole problem itself. These felons and state prisoners usually stay here for weeks, awaiting their transfer to state facilities. Judge Moehring said they do also have some federal prisoners from time to time.

Moehring said that the jail tax vote was so the county can make the facility more humane not only for those in custody, but for the staff as well. Plans to add facilities for the jailers had been considered for the expansion.

Jon Comstock, a member of the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition, a group that opposed the two jail vote proposals, spoke on why the coalition wanted the county to seek other options. He said that the county didn’t need the jail expansion and the state should implement other solutions to help the lack of jail space.

Comstock said the people need to observe who is occupying the jail space, including the state prisoners who are filling county beds, he said. Comstock said that the county doesn’t need a top level facility for just standard misdemeanors in the county.

He argued that the county should be building sobering centers for citizens who are charged with DUIs instead of sending them to the county jail. They should also have “failure to appear clinics,” that advertise to the general public that they are willing to work with them to change court dates and to meet with prosecutors. Comstock said that failure to appear is one of the charges filling up the jail.