Voters in western Iowa’s Mills County last night rejected a nearly 7 million dollar bond issue for a proposed new jail. Only 42 percent of the eligible voters participating in the special election favored the bond issue, which would have funded a new law enforcement center to replace the county’s 95-year-old jail.
A 60 percent majority was needed in order for it to pass. Mills County’s jail, like many aging rural jails, has been plagued with safety problems and overcrowding for years. But for residents who approved a nearly $20 million bond issue last year to build a new high school, the extra tax burden was just too much.
Sheriff Mack Taylor said he was disappointed by the results, but said he will continue to campaign for a new jail. he plans to discuss the outcome of the vote with the Board of Supervisors and plans to bring a new proposal back to the public. Voters in the Bondurant-Farrar school district Tuesday approved a plan to spend 10.3 million dollars to build a new high school.