Boone County Commission votes to put jail sales tax on November ballot

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to put a 3/8-cent sales tax on the November ballot.

Sheriff Dwayne Carey appeared before the commission last week to make his pitch for the tax. The commission was initially considering it for the August ballot, but moved it to November at Carey's urging after the City of Columbia put a 1-cent sales tax for public safety on the August ballot.

"Over the long weekend, I felt like we needed more time to educate voters and make sure that we were getting correct information out there versus it being incorrect and so the extra two months going to November will help us do that," Carey said.

The primary purpose of the Boone County tax is to pay for a new jail. Boone County Auditor Kyle Rieman estimated that, based on current 1/8-cent collections from the Prop L tax in 2025, the tax increase would start in 2027 and generate at least $17 million annually.

"We have Prop L already, which supports not only the sheriff's office, about 70%, but it supports the prosecutor's office, It already supports the alternatives to incarceration and court services," Carey said. "It's just a good fit versus a property tax or something else."

According to prior reporting, it cost over $2.5 million in 2025 to house inmates. It cost around $499,000 for housing in 2022.

Boone County is paying to house about 180 inmates outside of the county. According to prior reporting, the cost to house out-of-county detainees from January to March this year was around $1.12 million.

The new jail plans to have around 570 beds. It will also have accommodations for inmates certified by the Department of Mental Health and juvenile inmates, which the current jail does not have. If approved this November, Carey expects the jail to be built within 4-5 years.