Last November, Salt Lake County voters considered a $500 million public safety bond on their ballot. The funding was intended to expand the Metro Jail by adding more jail beds, and a smaller portion was for a Justice and Accountability Center – a facility for low-level offenders offering mental health services, substance abuse treatment, and job placement assistance. Despite the need for jail services, voters rejected the bond by roughly 52-48 percent.

For years, the county has anticipated this issue. To help offset the cost, several years ago, I led an effort to set aside $100 million dollars for jail expansion, but this reserve isn’t enough. Although the jail bond didn’t pass, the need for jail expansion remains. 

The county council recently implemented a small sales tax--one penny for every $5 spent. One quarter goes to Salt Lake County for public safety, one quarter goes to cities for transportation, and half goes back to the state legislature for transportation projects. 

For now, the county’s portion will fund the temporary re-opening of a pod at the Oxbow Jail, adding 248 jail beds over the next six months as well as fund deferred maintenance at Oxbow until we can eventually expand the Metro Jail.

Salt Lake County operates two jails, the Metro Jail and Oxbow. Both house inmates, but one has laundry facilities and the other has the kitchen that prepares meals for both. We are constantly transporting these services back and forth between the two which is costly and inefficient.

The bond was intended to help us permanently shut down Oxbow, an aging facility with significant deferred maintenance issues. For now, expanding Oxbow is a temporary solution with the goal to invest as little as possible until we pass a future jail bond to expand the Metro Jail. 

Salt Lake County funds public safety services through our general fund, which totals approximately $600 million. Over 74% of that budget already goes toward public safety, covering jail operations, the sheriff’s office, prosecution, indigent defense, and related services. While we continually seek ways to be more efficient, our current revenue simply isn’t enough to expand the Metro jail and add jail beds. Something has to change.

I’m sharing this with you for two important reasons. First, I believe in transparency. Second, we should have done a better job educating the public on why the public safety bond was necessary. We’ve asked the mayor and sheriff to bring back a more cost-effective option for expanding the Metro Jai and it will likely be on the ballot in 2026.

This future bond, called a "General Obligation Bond," will save taxpayers money. It has much lower interest rates than other types of bonds and is kept separate from the county’s overall budget. While taxes would go up either way, passing this bond will cost taxpayers less in the long run.

When the time comes, I encourage you to take a closer look. Public safety remains our top priority, and we hope you’ll stand with us in addressing this urgent need.