To the editor:
In a letter to the editor, Hancock County Council member Martha Vail tried to assure us that the council will come up with some way to staff a new $43 million jail before undertaking its construction. ("Jail will not be built without staff funding," March 9-11, Page A4.) However, the Hancock County Commissioners have already committed over $3 million to design, with bids to come in August.
Sheriff Brad Burkhart insists that 29 additional personnel are needed. Mrs. Vail was unable to give us even a clue as to where the couple million per year needed to support them will come from. Hint: the council needed more money this year to run the Emergency Operations Center so, effective last Jan. 1, the council increased your income taxes.
If there was no money available to fund the EOC, then guess what? There is no spare change around to pay for an enormous number of jail personnel. So it would appear that Mrs. Vail is just delaying the announcement of a new tax increase until after the jail is built. Then, the council can say that they have to increase taxes or let a new jail sit vacant.
Please be open with us. We know that you are proceeding without the money. What happened to fiscal conservatism in this county?
Marcia Miller
Greenfield
