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Decisions to protect taxpayers will haunt commission in lawsuit


Someone watching the KELO report on the 6 p.m. broadcast on Tuesday would think the Walworth County Commission have done nothing about the condition of the Walworth County Jail. Those of us who live here know that is not the entire story. Although the commission has not addressed some issues that were brought up in the report, including spending money on projects in the old building, they have addressed some others.
With limited budgets and restricted by the structure of the jail, some of what a 2017 report from Brad Hompe, reported by KELO as a consultant for the National Institute of Corrections, could not be addressed. The commission has however, addressed the issues they felt were affordable and a priority.
County residents know there are issues with the jail. Some of those issues have been muddied by circumstances that were not reported including the cost of a new jail, which would be used as a regional facility. The taxpayers of Walworth County voted down a bond issue that would fund a new jail project for several reasons. One was that they did not feel they should shoulder the tax increase burden of the bond. Another was the size of the project. Some voters voiced that they thought the annual operation cost of the new jail, based on revenue outside by taking in inmates from outside of the county, the number of which could not be guaranteed, would take up too much of the annual budget.
That vote handcuffed the commission as far as funding goes. Since that time, several other options have been brought to the commission, but nothing has covered what is perceived as the needs of the county or the region.
In fact, whether or not to build a jail that serves county needs only or to expand the project to be used as a regional jail is the heart of the issue.
Walworth County taxpayers have already said they do not feel they should be taxed to pay for a regional jail. Up until recently, there has not been a commitment by other counties to contribute specific funding for the project.
There have been many issues to overcome. It has taken years to get to the point where there is conceivable plan on which to move forward.
That does not mean it will happen. It only means the plan to use the former Shopko building in Mobridge could move forward if other counties agree to help fund the project.
The KELO report hits on several important issues that have been the center of this ongoing problem. It also sensationalized other points.
Readers of the Mobridge Tribune know we have reported on the commission’s efforts to find a solution for the years it has been part of county business.
This editor has agreed and disagreed with the commission members. One of the major disagreements was the size and operation of a jail presented in the bond issue. Without a guarantee of the outside inmate revenue housed at the new jail, the taxpayers here would have to pay the operational costs. That was a sticking point for this editor.
State’s attorney Jamie Hare warned the commissioners this was coming. They made choices that contributed to the lawsuit, but they also have made decisions backed by their constituents.
Those of us who asked them to keep the taxpayers from Walworth County from paying for the jail project, should also support the commission during this time.

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