Boone County Commission to hold public hearing on proposed tax for new jail

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Boone County Commissioner will hold its first read for its proposed public safety sales tax during a public hearing next week.

The meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Boone County Commission Chambers in the government center on East Walnut Street.  

A Thursday press release from the county says the sheriff’s office is requesting to place a three-eighths center sales tax on the Aug. 4 ballot to build a new jail.

The sheriff’s office had floated the idea earlier this month when the City of Columbia was discussing to place its own 1% public safety sales tax on the same ballot. The final certification date for the Aug. 4 election is May 26.

“Doe to the high number of court orders requiring defendants to be held in the Boone County Jail, coupled with limited space in the current jail, Boone County is consistently housing more detainees in out-of-county jails than in the Boone County Jail,” the press release says.

The county claims the cost of housing inmates in other jails has climbed over the years, with it costing $499,000 in 2022 to more than $2.5 million in 2025, the release claims. It also states more than $1 million has been spent housing detainees outside of the county during the first quarter of 2026.

The new jail would take four years to build and could house 570 inmates, according to the release.