Proposition No.1 Could Help Ease the Growing Pains

Share

By Holly Zuluaga

Summary

Franklin County is growing. That means so are county and city departments. The sheriff says they've cracked down on crime, but now they’re running out of places to put the crooks. The jail is maxed out, and they need Proposition No. 1 to pass in order to expand.

Story Published: Oct 16, 2009 at 5:14 PM PST

FRANKLIN COUNTY-- Franklin County is growing.

That means so are county and city departments.

The sheriff says they've cracked down on crime, but now they’re running out of places to put the crooks.

The jail is maxed out, and they need Proposition No. 1 to pass in order to expand.

It's only suppose to hold about 100 inmates, but the Franklin County jail is holding double that, and that's a safety issue.

“We're at a real crisis here. We can't continue to hold as many people in jail that need to be in jail,” Franklin County Sheriff, Richard Lathim said.

The jail has already had to add on temporary buildings, but now it's maxed out.

The sheriff has had to put some inmates on the floors around the jail.

“I think we're at a crucial point here. We see what happens down in the valley with the gang violence and that is pushing up into our area,” Sheriff Lathim said.

County growth and inmate growth go hand in hand.

“You have to have the infrastructure to back up what you're doing on the streets, so you can't just put more police officers to make the city safer. You have to have the court space and court resources and have to have the jail space to do that,” Sheriff Lathim said.

Sixty percent of the money would go to the county for jail improvements and an expansion.

It would triple the bed capacity.

The rest would go to Pasco and Connell.

The City of Pasco says it has the fastest growth rate in the state and it's been able to keep up with the growth. but now it's out of space.

The police department is in the same building as city hall.

If Proposition No.1 passes, it kills 2 birds with 1 stone.

They'll build a new police station freeing up space for other departments in the old building.

The bottom line is Pasco and Franklin Counties have outgrown their digs and if they continue to grow, they'll have nowhere to go.

Sheriff Lathim told me it could come to limiting the number of people in jail, and that's never good for public safety.

A similar measure failed a few years ago in Franklin County.

This measure would tack .3% onto the sales tax countywide for 30 years.

Cars would be exempt.