The Carroll County Board of Supervisors are continuing with their goal of getting an $8.95 million bond referendum for a new county jail on the November ballot with a conference call Monday morning. Supervisors spoke with Robert Josten of Dorsey and Whitney, who has been retained to assist with development of the bonding language and the campaign leading up to a referendum vote. Gene Meiners asked Josten to walk them through the process. There will be a deadline for notifying the state auditor of their intention to hold a bond vote by the end of August. Prior to that, Josten will prepare the necessary paperwork for the board.
The supervisors and a citizen committee should also be working to educate the public about the reasons for the new jail, what the new jail will house as well as where they can find that vote on their ballots. Josten says the county will need 60 percent plus one for the bond proposal to pass. If it doesn’t pass, it cannot be placed back on a ballot for six months. The legislature has limited the times that a referendum can be held to four per year, the first Tuesday in March, May, August or November.
The supervisors reviewed several examples of ballot language provided by Dorsey and Whitney. These have been used in previous elections, and the supervisors came to a consensus that the ballot language from Clay County’s referendum is preferred with some minor changes. Most notably, changing of the dollar amount and removing any mention of land purchases. A copy of the Clay County ballot language can be found with this story on our website. That referendum passed with slightly over 65 and a third percentage of the vote. The supervisors asked Josten to make the changes, which will be presented as a resolution at their next meeting on Monday, July 16. They have also agreed that they will need to get in contact with the six financial advisors that handle this region to conduct interviews and determine which one will best fit their needs before, during and after the referendum. And Josten asked about any opposition to the project, to which Neil Bock replied there is generally some form of opposition to any bond referendum. Josten also sought answers to the jail’s status with the state, to which Meiners and Rich Ruggles responded. Based on that response, Josten reminded the board that there was one critical thing they need to continue to do right up to the day of the Nov. 6 mid-term general election.
