PAULDING, Ohio (WOWO): Paulding County residents will get the chance to decide the financial future of the Paulding County Jail this November.

The Board of County Commissioners is placing a tax levy on the ballot to cover what Sheriff Jason Landers calls a “drastic increase” of costs due to a higher incarceration rate and more operational expenses. The levy would generate about $613,000 per year.

“The sooner we can get dollars coming in, the sooner I can hire Corrections Officers for training,” Landers says. “My staff has analyzed the numbers to operate the jail.  We must estimate what this facility will cost to operate at full staff in the fifth and sixth years, providing a carryover in the first years of the levy for unexpected expenses and the jail’s future.”

Landers says he’s aware there will be opponents to an additional tax, but he also thinks the “time is right” to put it to a vote.

County officials are planning a number of informational meetings about the referendum as the fall election nears.