Cole County sheriff wants sales tax on ballot next spring

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Cole County sheriff made a pitch to county commissioners Tuesday for a sales tax to expand the jail.

Sheriff John Wheeler pitched to commissioners a half-cent sales tax that would expire after bonds used to expand the jail are paid off. Wheeler asked for the issue to be on the April 2017 ballot.

The need is actue, Wheeler said. The county spent $425,000 last year to house inmates in other jails, he said.

"We just can't keep going the way we are," Wheeler said.

The average jail stay was 12.6 days in 2017, but has risen to 24.2 days since then, Wheeler said. The jail has 206 beds and averages 210 inmates a day, he said. He also said the expense of running the jail has doubled.

The sales tax in Cole County is 5.6%. That includes a 3/8-cent sales tax for law enforcement.