The Pulaski County Council has narrowly decided to move ahead with a revised bond ordinance for the Justice Center project, as costs continue to increase. The ordinance letting the county borrow up to $5.6 million without the involvement of the county auditor passed Monday by a vote of four-to-three.
But that won’t even cover the entire cost of the project. During Monday’s joint council and commissioners meeting, project liaison Nathan Origer said that based on the bids opened by the county commissioners last week, the current estimated cost is now closer to $5.9 million. “What seems to be the best strategy at this time is to remove the basement work release facility from the project scope,” Origer said. “It was included as a project alternate, so it is only part of the project if we choose for it to be. There are no legal issues if we pull that.” It doesn’t mean that the work release center couldn’t happen, but it would have to be funded with cash reserves in the Cumulative Jail Fund.
But Council Member Tim Overmyer argued that moving ahead with the bond was “totally wrong” for the county. “I know some of you on this board don’t pay much taxes and it doesn’t mean that much to you, but for the people that do and that’s out here, it’s just wrong to do that to them,” Overmyer said.
But that’s just one part of Pulaski County’s larger tax picture, which also included a decrease in income taxes and a property tax levy that was frozen in place for years. County officials ultimately spent several minutes debating the project’s property tax impact. Overmyer thought the total increase could be as much as 50 percent, which was largely supported by Auditor Laura Wheeler. But Origer believed that figure was inaccurate.
“I’m just giving you the facts,” Origer said. ” You’re looking at like an 11-percent increase, and if – “
“You’re not giving us the facts because we don’t know” Overmyer said. “You always shoot at the wall and see what sticks.”
“No, I do the math,” Origer replied. “I sit down and go through the data and do the math. There are assumptions at work.”
“I want the math that comes on my tax papers,” Overmyer continued. “That’s where I want it. I want it to be exact.”
“Tim, nobody knows that,” Origer noted.
In the end, the vote remained the same as last month’s first reading, with Overmyer, Rudy DeSabatine, and Mike Tiede once again voting against the revised bond ordinance Monday. The commissioners then approved a related resolution of their own.
Going forward, construction manager Tonn & Blank will propose a guaranteed maximum price. That’s expected to go to the commissioners for approval in July.
