A $105 million jail is under construction in Cedar City, with an expected opening date of July 2027.The proposed jail was initially rejected due to a proposed p
A $105 million jail is under construction in Cedar City, with an expected opening date of July 2027. The proposed jail was initially rejected due to a proposed property tax. Now, the jail will be funded with a 0.
3% sales tax and bond. The sheriff's department said the current jail has been maxed out for years and said this new jail will last for 50-70 years. But some people question if the high price tag is worth it.“A 0.3% increase in sales tax may not seem drastic right now, but over decades, that is an immense burden placed on us,” one Cedar City resident said. The county's current jail is the oldest in Utah, built about 40 years ago. The sheriff's department said they’re having inmates switch to private probation ankle monitors because they do not have enough beds. “In order to make room, you have to release somebody back out on the street, then that's a problem,” said Iron County Sheriff Ken Carpenter. “If the judge felt like they should be incarcerated for a period of time for the crime that they committed, then they should be incarcerated for that period of time.” The old facility had only 160 working beds, but the new one will host 362. It also has a round design with central control, allowing guards to have a 360-degree view of cells without blind spots, so there can be fewer staff while still being safe. “It’s building for the future where we don't need to be able to use it all today, we're able to contract part of it out to the state and the federal government,” Carpenter said. “As the county continues to grow, we'll be able to reduce the number of contract inmates.”“Why should the tax burden of this new jail be placed on residents of Iron County when we are taking the burden from the whole state?” one resident asked. Sheriff Carpenter said the higher number of contract inmates than state inmates could actually help the local economy. “Residents of Iron County are already paying state and federal tax, which in part goes to provide for the care of these state and federal inmates,” he said. “By bringing some of those inmates back into Iron County, into our local county jail, we're bringing those tax dollars that they've already paid out to the state and federal government back into Iron County to help pay off this facility and to help stimulate our own economy.” He said that it will bring in about $5.5 million a year to increase wages and pay off the bond — and that’s just with the first leg of the facility, with a second pod expected to raise annual income to $14 million. He also addressed some other concerns, saying inmates will leave Cedar City once released, in-person visitation is not allowed, and federal inmates will typically only stay for a few months. While some people are open to the need for a new jail, they feel the local government hasn't been transparent in their plans. “It feels that our voices are being unheard,” one resident said. “In my interactions with the county's officials and government, it seems that they want to tell us what's going to happen, and they don't want to listen to us on what we should think should happen. It's very disappointing. To hear the responses that I've gotten on these issues from officials, and I've been told to please educate myself, but none of these resources are easily available. It just seems that we are completely without representation in this county on the matter.”A first-grader was leaving an elementary school in Herriman to go to daycare when he was assaulted by another student with a small wooden baseball bat.Now, hisA large house fire broke out in the Sandy area, prompting a response from Unified Fire Authority and the Sandy Fire Department.Benjamin Porter, a spokespersonTwo people were killed on Wednesday after a semi-truck collided with a Corvette near Erda in Tooele County.The crash was first reported just after 10 a.m. on MClose to a dozen Utah cities impose "transportation utility fees," which are collected in addition to taxes. Now, commercial property owners in one community arMajor roads surrounding the Temple Square in Salt Lake will close for several months after the Salt Lake City Council unanimously granted a request from the Chu
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