Organizers one step closer in bid to force vote on new Lee County jail
Aug. 3—TUPELO — A proposal to build a new jail with as much as $85 million in public debt has now moved one step closer toward a mandatory special election.
A coalition of local organizers presented a petition containing approximately 2,100 signatures to the Lee County Board of Supervisors on Monday.
This comes after action by supervisors in July to reserve for themselves the authority to borrow up to $85 million at any time over the next two years to construct or renovate county buildings, including a possible jail and law enforcement complex.
If the petition presented on Monday contains 1,500 signatures by registered Lee County voters, then supervisors cannot issue the proposed debt without a countywide special election. Voters would then face the choice of approving or rejecting the bond debt.
The Circuit Clerk's office will have the job of verifying the submitted signatures, said county administrator Bill Benson, who is also the elected chancery clerk.
If there aren't 1,500 signatures by registered voters on the petition, supervisors will retain the authority to issue the bond debt within the next two years, though county leaders have said there's no immediate plan to do so.
An organizer involved in efforts to collect the signatures told supervisors on Monday she believes local voters are "skeptical" of the vague public details about how county leaders plan to use the borrowed money and demand more transparency.
"Questions are rampant among Lee County voters," said Dinetia Newman, a leader with the political advocacy organization Indivisible Northeast Mississippi.
After the meeting, District 4 Supervisor Tommie Lee Ivy, a Democrat, touted his longtime support for a special election to decide any big-ticket spending on the jail.
"Let the people decide," Ivy told the Daily Journal. "I've always said that."
Board President Billy Joe Holland, who represents the fifth supervisor's district, told the Daily Journal he wasn't eager to take on the upper limit of borrowing power sought by the board.
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"I'm kind of leery of the $85 million," Holland said.
Borrowing money for jail construction will almost certainly require a tax increase, county officials say.
Benson estimates that a tax increase of a little over 5 mills would be needed to pay off $80 million in debt. A tax increase of a little over 3 mills would be needed to pay off $50 million in bond debt.
A tax levy of 1 mill equates to $10 for every $100,000 of assessed value on a home.
