COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Branch County officials are hoping the third time will be the charm Tuesday as voters in the county will be asked to approve a millage request to build a new 184 bed Branch County Jail.
Previous efforts were turned down in 2006 and 2016. The proposal two years ago went down in flames by almost 1,100 votes.
A citizens group pushing for a new jail put together a video which was produced by the Kalamazoo video company Kzoom that showed in somewhat graphic detail the conditions that inmates and corrections officers have to put up with in the current facility which Sheriff John Pollack says is crumbling.
There has also been discussions about using maintenance savings at the new jail to put additional Sheriff’s Department deputies on the road
But some have grumbled about paying higher taxes. Others say the county should use the abandoned state prison property across the street for a jail. That’s impossible because the State of Michigan owns that land.
Backers of the jail millage are hoping to convince enough Branch County taxpayers through social media, the video and jail tours that a no vote maybe penny wise but pound foolish.
Branch County voters will be asked on Tuesday to approve a 20 year millage at an assessment of no more than 1.25 mills per year. There would be a refinancing option after the seventh year.
