New jail a good SPLOST investment

The Union-Recorder

October 07, 2008 10:22 pm

— Local leaders recently got an inside look at the county’s new state-of-the art law enforcement center, paid for with Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds.
The move to the new facility, located off of Ga. Highway 22 on Old Monticello Road, is expected sometime around November or December. Among the features in the new county jail is a courtroom that can hold around 60 people, and two attorney’s rooms and administrative offices. This new courtroom will hopefully cut down on the volume of criminal court proceedings that have to be held at courthouse.
According to estimates from Sheriff Bill Massee, the new courtroom will help cut down transports to the courthouse by two-thirds. This is not only a savings for local taxpayers, it’s also an added safety precaution. Any time local law enforcement agencies can cut down on transports, decreasing the risk for any potential mishaps involving inmates, we should all feel safer.
The new facility will be a welcome change for local law enforcement officials, as the current jail, which was originally constructed to house 50 people, presently holds 180, another safety issue that will soon be addressed. In addition to the added safety measures the new jail will provide, the facility is also expected to help curb operating overhead — certainly another advantage in the present economy.
In a day and age where state and national events — some time a little too close to home — have necessitated beefing up security in our courthouses and courtrooms, we should all feel a little safer in knowing we have this new, technologically-sound facility.
Local taxpayers should feel a sense of security and confidence in knowing that these particular 1-cent sales tax funds are going toward enhancing our community’s safety, which we think is always a matter of money well spent.
We need to look no further than the recent events to serve as a reminder. For the past two weeks, we’ve all read the headlines and seen the reports of the trial proceedings under way in the Brian Nichols case in Atlanta, and perhaps none of use can forget the horrific events that lead to the trial. These court proceedings should serve as a reminder to us all that we mustn’t let our guard down when it comes to security and safety with regards to our law enforcement and court facilities.
Last year, more than 3,000 inmates made trips from the Baldwin County Jail to the courthouse. Any opportunity to cut down on that number is a benefit for safety for all of Baldwin County.
With the added level of safety and security the new jail will provide, coupled with the decrease in overhead, we think this SPLOST project is money well-spent.