Portage County Jail Tax Levy

Anchor Intro: The Portage County Jail is seeking to make improvements to its women’s housing unit. TV2 reporter Alaina Altieri has the information on this year’s Portage County Jail tax levy.

Election Day is nearly one month and this is especially important for Sheriff David Doak and the Portage County Jail. A year and a half ago the jail saw a sudden spike in female inmates. Sheriff Doak said the jail is permitted to have 34 female inmates but is averaging 45 to 47. One weekend, the jail had 60 females forcing some to sleep in the floor.

This November, a half-mill, two year tax levy will appear on the ballot. If passed, the tax money will go towards the expansion of the women’s portion of the jail. Sheriff Doak knows it will be expensive but is an issue that needs to be addressed.

“People don’t want to put money out to keep people in jail and I get that. The trade-off is we either use this space now and pay a million bucks or if somebody files a federal lawsuit down the road, we’re going to get court ordered to do it. So we’re trying to do a cost saving things there.”

TAG: Portage County commissioners approved the issue by a 2-1 vote. If passed, the levy will raise $1.2 million. For more information on the tax levy visit the Portage County Board of Elections.

Definition: Half-Mill Levy