Should the Salt Lake County Council extend the jail bond tax to pay for criminal justice reform?

This is one of the most important issues we have faced since I began my service on the council - criminal justice reform.

Our number one priority is public safety. Since the jail is the single largest drain on the budget, it is something I believe we need to closely scrutinize. We are seeing an increase in jail bookings and because we don't have room for everyone, we let 600 people per month walk. Operating more jail beds is very expensive, so as a county we are looking for ways to reform criminal justice. That may include having a receiving center with a magistrate who can quickly make decisions on where people need to be. It may include more detox beds so we aren't using precious jail space for those who just need an overnight detox. It may include opening another pod at Oxbow Jail. It may include more mental health and substance abuse programs to rehabilitate, so people don't keep cycling in and out of jail. It could also include building a community corrections center to help us do this.

Because there are so many needs in this arena, the council is looking at extending a tax that was instituted for the jail bond 20 years ago. The bond is paid off at the end of this year and would free up $9.4 million for criminal justice reform.

We have some real needs to address. I began by proposing $4 million in cuts to the Salt Lake County budget. (You can read about that here.) Avoiding wasteful spending is one of my priorities, and so is investing in the future so we can save tax dollars down the road. Criminal justice reform is something that is critical.

I want to hear from you! Please answer these two questions on my survey and let me know YOUR thoughts. You can also leave comments below.

Aimee's Criminal Justice Survey

(As a side note, some of my constituents received a post card in the mail about this issue, funded by an out-of-state special interest group. It has misinformation such as, "Salt Lake County wants to hike taxes yet again!" (We haven't raised taxes since I have been on the council, and I believe the last tax increase was in 2012.) The flyer says this would be the third tax increase this year, but doesn't specify who the other tax increases were from. They were not from Salt Lake County. It also says that the tax extension will increase taxes by $9.4 million per year. (It is an extension, not a new tax, so taxes will not increase by that amount.) Don't believe everything you read in the paper, or in the mailbox!)