GREENFIELD — As Hancock County leaders ready the budget for next year, the county council has laid the groundwork to issue up to a $5 million bond for future projects, such as purchasing temporary trailer units to house inmates and alleviate overcrowding at the jail.
During this week’s Hancock County Council meeting, the county’s financial adviser, Greg Guerrettaz, said officials could set up a fund for 2019 in the Indiana Gateway for Government Units as a sort of “placeholder” for a general obligation bond. The no more than $5 million bond would be paid for with property taxes and is the highest bond amount a county can issue without a referendum.
The Hancock County Council unanimously approved the measure on Wednesday. Councilman Jim Shelby said building in the bond for next year’s budget is a “safeguard” for the county and isn’t a commitment.
Guerrettaz said the county will now have to either issue up to a $5 million bond by Dec. 31 in order to receive funding in 2019 or wait another year to start the bond process. If by the end of the year county leaders cannot come up with a plan on how to use the bond, then the fund in Gateway would dissolve.
Bill Bolander, president of the council, said if the county proceeds with purchasing temporary jail units, then the bond could assist in the payment.
Maj. Brad Burkhart, the chief deputy of the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, said during a recent county budget committee meeting that a temporary unit to house about 100 inmates could cost $5.2 million as a direct purchase or about $11 million leased over 13 years.
Burkhart has been in talks with Seymour, Missouri-based All Detainment Solutions about bringing the multiple semitrailer structure to the parking lot between community corrections and the current jail in downtown Greenfield. It would be the first of its kind in Indiana and would be installed in six months time. The units have stainless steel interiors as well as beds, seating areas and restrooms.
The company built a similar trailer structure in 2017 at the jail in Greene County, Missouri.
The Hancock County Jail has been overcrowded for years, and on July 18, it had a record 259 inmates in the 157-bed facility, Burkhart said. The county council and board of commissioners have yet to agree on a solution to the overcrowding, and it’s unclear on the next step the county will take in building a new jail.
Burkhart said he and Keith Oliver, the jail’s commander, will tour Greene County’s facility later this month.
