BEMIDJI — It’s as close to a consensus as one might ever see in a local election as nearly 97% of voters OK’d a sales tax for a new Beltrami County Jail.
Voters sent a resounding signal of support Tuesday, Nov. 7, for financing construction bonds for a new 242-bed correctional facility with a sales tax. The alternative presented by Beltrami County officials to fund the project was a significant property tax hike.
In the single-question special election ballot, 8,802 voters, or 96.84%, cast their vote to support implementing a five-eighths of a percent sales tax, which would equate to about 50 cents on $80 of taxable goods. Exempt items include food, clothing and motor vehicles, and services are also exempt from the new tax.
Beltrami County Sheriff Jason Riggs said the county took an educational approach about the project ahead of this ballot question.
“We were diligent with our educational piece. We had to make sure that we didn’t do anything other than display the facts and let the voters make their own choice,” Riggs said in a 1 a.m. Wednesday phone interview.
With the voter-approved sales tax to help finance the up to $80 million in construction bonds, work on the project will continue to move forward, according to Riggs.
“We are also confident moving forward, having the possibility of a second chance next year if it didn’t pass this year," Riggs said. “And if it would have been a certain way, our hand very well may have been forced by the DOC (Minnesota Department of Corrections).”
Background
The Minnesota Department of Corrections first issued an order in 2019 to Beltrami County to make long-term improvements to its correctional facility. In November 2022, the board voted to go forward with building a new jail.
In January, a reduced capacity order from the state came about after an investigation into a suicide attempt inside the facility. In the order, the county had just two days to submit a capacity reduction plan after the corrections department found multiple violations of minimum staffing levels and attempts to prevent or delay medical transport for emergency care. The state also noted multiple instances in which Beltrami County jail staff failed to conduct timely well-being checks of inmates, including immediately before the suicide attempt.
Today, the jail is operating at a 72-inmate capacity, with the ability to flex up to 82 inmates. Two of the three levels in the building are in use. Beltrami County officials estimate that on average, 75 Beltrami County inmates are housed in other county jails.
Beltrami County’s current jail stands near churches, schools and residences near downtown Bemidji. In use since 1989, it was built to house 66 inmates, two of which could be women. Riggs said the facility could house up to 150 inmates in its peak over the years of remodels and rule changes, but the 34-year-old structure is difficult to maintain and staff.
“The facility’s infrastructure has aged to a point where it's expensive to replace equipment because the equipment doesn't exist anymore, it has to be made from scratch,” Riggs said in an earlier interview. “But by and large, the majority of it is just the lack of space that we have and the number of staff that is required to monitor and supervise the inmates.
From the polling places
Some voters at the polls said it was an easy choice between an increase in property tax or an increase in sales tax.
Marianne Cable of Bemidji voted Tuesday in Ward 2 at the National Guard Armory. Cable said she voted because it’s important for Americans to exercise that right. But she also said her reason for participating in this election was to have a say in her own tax bill. Cable said she voted ‘yes’ on the ballot question, because a sales tax feels less impactful to her than a hike in property taxes.
“Our property taxes here in Beltrami County — they’re already high,” she said.
Melissa Jackson, head election judge at the Armory, said voter turnout was pretty good in Ward 2, considering it tends to be a ward with lower participation.
“I think it’s been very well received, and people are wanting their voices heard,” Jackson said. “So they’re definitely pushing others to come in and vote as well.”
In Northern Township, vehicles overflowed from the parking lot to the street shortly before 5 p.m. as voters flocked to the polls. Inside, a line formed as residents waited their turns to weigh in.
One voter who wished to remain anonymous joked that he voted because his wife reminded him to. But then he added similar sentiments to Cable’s, saying he’d rather pay a little more at the store than face a potentially more substantial hit on property taxes.
Polls were busy in Bemidji’s Ward 5, with polling place Head Judge Rachelle Barckholtz reporting a steady stream of voters since polls opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
Ward 5 voter Nicholas Bahe said he appreciated having an opportunity to provide input on how Beltrami County’s jail would be financed.
“I guess I'd rather have the question than not have an option,” Bahe said.
In nearby Ward 3, voter Courtney Haskins said she cast her ballot in favor of collecting visiting dollars to fund the project.
“I voted ‘yes’ because I think that the property taxes in Beltrami County are already significantly high and it would be nice if the burden of the cost of the jail was shared by not only people that live here, but people from out of town, too,” Haskins said.
