Sharp County planning to pay jail off early
The original plan was to have the jail paid off by 2034. The county did not have to spend as much money as they thought on construction of the jail, and saved the county $2 million.
By: Bryant Kwilecki
KAIT
Sharp County started the project for the new jail in 2018, construction was completed in 2021, and now the jail is nearly paid off way ahead of schedule.
When the jail was started in 2018, a half-cent sales tax was passed to help pay for it. Sharp County Treasurer Wanda Girtman said a promise was made to the people.
“If you vote this in, that the half a cent will go away when the bonds are paid off. Basically, we’re keeping a promise to the people,” Girtman said.
Girtman said the original plan was to have the jail paid off by 2034. She said the county did not have to spend as much money as they thought on construction of the jail, and saved the county $2 million.
“We didn’t spend all of our construction money, so that was applied to our bonds so that helped greatly,” Girtman said.
Sharp County resident Johnny Gaither said he thinks it’s great the county is paying the jail off this early.
“I believe it’s a good thing as far as getting it paid off,” Gaither said. “I think you stated the sales tax would be removed once this is done, and I think that they should follow through on that with it.”
The jail cost the county just a little over $10,000,000 in total. Girtman said that with the money saved from construction, extra payments from other money the county saved, and with the taxes already collected, the county just owes a little over $1 million for the jail.
