Marion County Has Revised Its Jail Tax Proposal And Is Going Back To Voters

Ozarks First.com

By:  Grant Sloan

U.S. Senator John Boozman, who is running for re-election, toured the Marion County Sheriff's Department, which is asking voters to pass a tax for a new jail.

In March, a three-quarter-cent tax measure to fund the construction of a 94-bed jail was rejected by voters. The county has since scaled back the proposal to a half-cent sales tax for a 62-bed jail.

“If it is not funded at this point, the state will close [the current jail] or make it a 24-hour holding facility,” says Marion County Sheriff Joan Vickers.

“They've given us extension after extension, there will be no more extensions,” she says. “It will just remain a 24-hour holding facility."

If the measure passes, the county will begin construction on the new jail which is expected to cost around $7.3-million.

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