On the upcoming April 4th Consolidated Election there is a referendum on the ballot for a potential new Law Enforcement Center where Warren County voters are being asked to approve a three-quarter percent increase in the sales tax, equating to a seventy-five cents additional tax on a one-hundred-dollar purchase. Citizens Advisory Committee Chair Chip Algren informs Warren County has designated $2 million in COVID relief funds to go toward the down payment of the project, which would be added to collected funds from a passed sales tax referendum:
“When the referendum passes in April, we would begin collecting revenue in January of 2024. We will then collect revenue for approximately a three year period and combine that with the $2 million in COVID money affectively to make a down payment. At that point we would issue bonds for the balance of the money that would be needed. That would be a 20 year bond issue and at that point with the bonds being issued we then would break ground and start construction. Based on projections, we would be getting about $1 million a year. Right now we are looking at a $16 to $18 million dollar project. Let’s just use $18 million for an example, if we make a $5 million down payment, then we would be borrowing $13 million, so a bond issue would be for that amount of money.”
Based on a projected outlook study by Bellwether LLC, Algren reports the current $16 to $18 million potential Warren County Law Enforcement Center would contain 60 beds, 30 cells with two beds per cell, which would also follow separation requirements put in place by the Department of Corrections. To hear more from Algren, listen below.
