The bond would be a general obligation bond and cost the owner of an average house appraised at $167,000 about $15.43 per year. The bond that built the existing jail will expire in three years, so if voters approve the new bond, they will continue paying about the same amount, not an additional amount.

After the expanded jail is opened, after about 18 months of construction, the operation and maintenance expenses will cost about $5 million per year, which will require a tax increase, increases in other revenues or reductions in expenditures. If it is paid for by a tax increase, it would cost the average homeowner about $35 per year.

The committee's report states the county's population has increased from 187,000 in 1990 to 251,713 in 2003, a 35 percent increase. The current jail population fluctuates between 490 and 510 inmates and reached capacity at the end of 2000. The projected need in five years is for 740 beds and in 10 years, 924 beds.

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E-mail: lweist@desnews.com