ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (WOWO) – Leaders in Allen County met with a U.S. District Court judge Wednesday for a status conference on efforts to build a new county jail.
Our partners in news at 21Alive report that in March 2022, Judge Damon Leichty found in favor of plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit addressing myriad deficiencies at the Allen County Jail. His order demanded swift action by the sheriff and the county commissioners to address concerns that included overcrowding, staffing, and the treatment of inmates.
Allen County Commissioners said to properly address these issues, they want to build a new jail. But in order to do so, the county council will need to approve an increase in the county’s income tax to help pay for its construction.
In July, the county voted against the increase. Then on September 20, the council voted to postpone a second vote on the measure so they could go over relevant information. They told us they were still missing some necessary information.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Judge Leichty said the county needs to “either act or answer”, saying a definitive solution needs to be reached. The judge set an October 31 funding deadline. He says if funding is not secured by that date, construction of the jail could be delayed at least six months, pushing the opening date to 2028 or 2029.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys say if a solution is not reached by that deadline, they could add county council members to the lawsuit or file a new one.
1 comment
Perhaps the plaintiffs should invest their time and money trying to keep people from committing crimes rather than worry about the size of a jail. I don’t want my property taxes to increase because of some lawsuit and a federal judge who cares more about criminals than he does the law abiding, tax paying public. If I was on city council, I would tell the plaintiffs to bring on the lawsuit. Council members are elected to represent their districts and they understand the lack of interest in a tax increase. Allen county still has the food and beverage tax because the politicians decided to keep it rather than letting it sunset as was the original plan. This would just be another tax increase that never goes away.