Vigo County residents got one step closer Tuesday night in seeing plans for a new jail come to pass.
The Board of Commissioners of Vigo County submitted a written request of $5 million for additional appropriations. This would fund the initial development costs of building a new jail.
The attorney for the commissioners says these initial costs would include further design, and the site preparation, once a final site is selected.
Additionally, the commissioners requested a 1.25% increase on local income taxes.
The revenue created from that would be to finance both the jail, as well as other county projects, including a multi-million dollar renovation of the Hulman Center.
Now it’s up the county council to decide how to pay for it.
“If we are looking at a 1.25% increase, you are basically taking one paycheck a year out of a family’s budget. That’s a tough decision,” says Bill Thomas, President of the Vigo County Council.
Thomas says the council wants to get that 1.25% tax as low as possible.
The budget committee will review the Board of Commissioners requests on February 28th. Depending on their recommendation, the county council would put this to a vote on March 14th.
