MEDFORD, Ore. — (Updated: 12/19/19 10:10 p.m.) The Jackson County Jail Proposal is taking one step closer to going to voters next year.
Thursday night, the Medford City Council voted in favor of joining a county-wide tax district to fund a new 800-bed jail. The vote did come after several presentations from stakeholders. Ultimately, councilors voted six to two in favor of letting the proposal move forward.
Medford City Councilor Kevin Stine who voted in favor of the new jail proposal said new facilities are needed to combat the current jail’s overcrowding issue.
“It’s a very unsustainable system and the community as a whole is suffering including those people that are getting arrested because there is no path at the current time to try to have that rehabilitation,” said Stine.
Clay Bearnson and Kay brooks were the two no votes. Every city in the county has said “yes” to the new jail except Talent.
The proposal is now expected to make its way to county commissioners for their vote. If they approve it, then voters will see the proposal on their May ballots.
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Medford City Council is preparing to vote on a new Jackson County Jail.
Every city so far in the county has said “yes” to the new jail except Talent.
Medford City Councilors already voted “yes” to the proposal in the Spring.
However, at the time it needed every city on board and wasn’t able to move forward when Ashland and Talent turned it down.
Now, the county prepared a contingency plan, so Talent’s approval wasn’t necessary.
Medford City Councilor Kevin Stine says he’s been supportive of the jail from the very beginning and is confident it will pass to voters.
“When you really dive into the details of what we have today compared to what we could have in the future, it’s a very worthwhile project,” said Stine.
Stine says the only change since councilors approved the proposal in the Spring is the cost of the jail has gone up; that’s because construction costs keep increasing.
Without Talent joining in, the cost of the new jail would be 87 cents per $1000 of assessed property value.
For a $300,000 home, that’s about $260 a year.
If Talent were to re-consider and vote “yes,” the same property would pay a couple of dollars less a year.
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