Dallas County leaders want to build a new $5 billion jail and courthouse. But who will fund it?
DALLAS - Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price told city council members this week that the county wants to build a new jail and courthouse.
The revelation raises a lot of questions. It’s unclear where it will be or how it will be paid for.
The estimated cost of a new jail and courthouse is $5 billion.
The Lew Sterrett Justice Center in Downtown Dallas is nearly 50 years old.
"We cannot build a new jail without building a new courthouse," Price said. "That is a real undertaking given public transportation, given the challenges."
Commissioner Price told the council it is a challenge to keep the aging facility in compliance with state standards. But the new facility will not replace the old one at the same location.
"Wherever we find the appropriate land to build a courthouse and a jail, that is where we are looking," he said.
Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn said the city manager needs to make sure Dallas is included in discussions about the logistics.
The discussion came up because council members had questions about the city's contract to pay nearly $7.9 million for housing Dallas inmates at $85 each per day.
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That's less than last year because city staff says the number of Dallas inmates in custody has gone down.
But Price dropped another bombshell proposal in a completely different direction.
"I think you ought to build your own," he told the council," The rest of Dallas, 955 square miles, 31 cities, most of them have a jail or a collaboration for jails"
Price reminded the council the old lockup at the George Allen Courthouse has 800 beds.
"We only need about $30 million to bring it back online," he said. "It's time for the city to make a real decision."
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Commissioner Price said there is a blue-ribbon task force set up to pursue building a new jail and courthouse. It is unclear how the county would fund it.