Tough times cut both ways on jail issue

It doesn't seem like a good idea to bring up the failed McCook and Red Willow County public safety facility bond issue just because a couple of architects are looking for work.

With layoffs and financial struggles leading the news every day, bringing a new tax-based project to the voters now seems like a misguided effort.

But perhaps some of those same factors make this a good time to revisit the jail question.

Since tighter jail standards kicked in nearly 30 years ago, Red Willow County has been depending on the City of McCook for short-term (96 hours or less) holding cells, or longer-term jail facilities in Curtis, Trenton or elsewhere.

The problem of what to do with prisoners doesn't go away. Six to 18 prisoners are in custody each day, sometimes climbing has high as 20.

As Sheriff Gene Mahon told the county commissioners Monday, the cost of renting jail beds costs the county a third of a million dollars each year. That doesn't include the cost of transporting the prisoners to and from other jails, which includes fuel, wear-and-tear on county vehicles, and deputies' time.

Plus, there is the county's exposure to lawsuits should a prisoner be injured on one of the trips to or from jail.

One has to wonder, with the new administration's talk of rebuilding infrastructure, whether a new county jail might qualify for some type of forthcoming funding.

There are plenty of obstacles, such as siting a jail on the crowded courthouse block, but Monday's discussion leaned toward going it alone, making the new jail strictly a county project and leaving the city out of it.

As good an idea as combining city and county services is, getting that idea past public officials and voters is a tough task.

No, current economic conditions aren't conducive to bringing up a jail bond issue again, and there's no guarantee building our own jail would reduce costs.

But even if it doesn't save money, it makes more sense now than ever to channel those tax dollars back into the Red Willow County economy.