Johnson supervisors agree on justice center funding

IOWA CITY – After an acrimonious past week, a more courteous Johnson County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday informally agreed on how to pay for a new criminal justice center.

Board members, meeting in a work session, said they would ask voters to approve a bond referendum of $46.8 million, at the most. They are hopeful that can come down.

The overall project is estimated at $48.1 million. It would include a new jail and courtrooms to ease overcrowding and safety concerns at the current jail and courthouse.

The board has been fighting, sometimes on personal terms, the past several days over the size of the bond and some members had suggested the project was in doubt. Four members had been shooting for a $43 million bond and spending roughly $5 million from the county's budget to cover the difference.

Supervisor Terrence Neuzil argued the county needed to show voters that it was willing to sacrifice by making further cuts from its budget to pay even more up front to get the bond down to $39 million to $40.9 million.

County Treasurer Tom Kriz deflated the plans of both sides Wednesday by saying the county really only had about $1.3 million to pay up front. Spending more would put the county in violation of its policy on setting a certain percentage of its budget in its reserve fund.

Breaking that policy could, among other things, hurt the county's bond rating, which would lead to taxpayers paying more in interest for projects.

The county typically does not spend all of its budgeted expenditures each year, and county officials were hopeful that $1.3 million amount could increase. In fiscal year 2010, for example, there was $1.8 million leftover. The year before, there was nearly $2 million.

The board majority also said they wanted to sell the current jail and put the proceeds toward the justice center project. The supervisors cannot guarantee future board members would use the money for that purpose, though.

Neuzil said he hoped the $46.8 million bond amount could be reduced, and he gave a somewhat cool endorsement to that figure.

“If that's what we want to put in front of the voters, that's what we put in front of the voters,” he said.

In the past week, other supervisors have accused Neuzil, who is one of three supervisors running for re-election this year, of political grandstanding and holding the project hostage.

There were no personal attacks Wednesday.

“We decided to get along today because it's Terrence's birthday and he fed us pie,” Supervisor Janelle Rettig joked.

She then turned serious and said this is an important project and it's time for voters to get their say.

The board informally agreed to put the item on the November ballot.