Editor’s note: Transcript provided by CoverGov.
With Parker County having outgrown its justice center and jail, county commissioners are putting two bond proposals totaling $286.3 million before voters Nov. 4 — both scaled back from earlier plans and paring the immediate cost to taxpayers.
Commissioners on Aug. 18 voted 5-0 to approve the proposals:
- Proposition A: $104.755 million, which would pay for renovation and expansion of the Parker County Jail.
- Proposition B: $181.6 million, which would pay for a new justice center to house courts and county offices, consolidating more operations in one location.
Voters can vote to approve one or the other proposition, vote for both, or can turn down both.
“We did the very best we could,” County Judge Pat Deen said during the meeting. “We understood who’s our boss. We’ve been very conservative. This is based on need. First and foremost, the priority is public safety. We have to take care of our people.”
The 173,000-square-foot justice center project includes spaces for eight courtrooms, Parker County district attorney, county attorney, district clerk and county clerk court units. The project also will include adult probation, juvenile probation, Parker County sheriff’s offices, courthouse security and a jury assembly room. It will provide 1,144 parking spaces.
The jail project will be a 124,000-square-foot expansion of the existing 483-bed jail, and provide capacity for 720 more inmate beds. The bond package would pay for 336 of those beds; the remainder would be completed at a future date, according to bond program website.
If both bond initiatives pass, the total tax impact to Parker County property owners is estimated at $50/$100,000 of property valuation.
If voters approve both bond proposals, they’d agree to pay about $50 more annually per $100,000 of property value assessed for tax purposes, according to the Parker County website. “This does not include (impact from) homestead exemptions,” according to the county website.
Seniors 65 and older who have homestead exemptions and people who have disabilities will be unaffected, the site said. “Their taxes are frozen and cannot be increased by a bond.”
In its case to voters, the county noted it continues to grow rapidly.
“From 2010-2022, the county population grew by over 34% and is increasing at an annual rate of just under 5%,” the county website said. “Simply put, an average of 33 new people move to the county every day. This growth rate has left the county faced with the critical need for updated justice infrastructure.”
The current jail is “outdated and overcrowded,” the county said in material about the bond program on its website. “As a result, the county must pay thousands of dollars each year to maintain the building and house inmates in other counties.”
Additionally, the courthouse is at capacity and “often requires jurors, inmates and judges to navigate the same shared public spaces, which can compromise security,” the county’s site says.
Parker County built the current jail in 1989 when the county population was less than 65,000. The population is nearing 175,000 today.
The county pays about $2 million annually — $106 per person per day — to house prisoners in other county jails. That cost is expected to increase with growth and as jail space around the region becomes more scarce, Parker County said on its site.
Parker County’s district courts handle about 2.5 times more cases than similar courts in Tarrant County, the county said. The current district court building, a 114-year-old former post office, is inadequate for modern felony trials, lacking necessary safety and separation for victims and accused, the county said on its site.
The commissioners deemed an initial 50-year master plan for the justice center and jail as impractical, with its projected property tax increase of 10 cents per $100 of value assessed for tax purposes.
The redesigned plans include the project phases and a tax increase of less than 5 cents per $100 of value from the bond program’s two pieces.
The jail plan calls for the addition rather than a completely new building. Existing infrastructure like the kitchen and laundry will support the added inmates.
The initial phase of the justice building covered in the bond program calls for seven courts. Probate, full county clerk operations and justice of the peace courts will be added later. It’s not clear yet where the new justice center will be located.
Construction for both projects is expected to take 4-5 years to complete.
Parker County currently has no non-transportation debt, with about $207 million in existing transportation bonds issued.
At a public meeting in August before the commissioners decided to put the bond program before voters, speakers raised concerns about the cost; perceived extravagance about the initial, bigger proposal; fast timeline; and whether the money could have been saved over time.
Commissioners explained that the phased approach addresses cost concerns; architects can achieve a classical look with economical materials; the timeline is dictated by bond election cycles; and large capital projects are typically funded by voter-approved bonds rather than accumulated savings to ensure public accountability.
Commissioners repeatedly stressed the importance of the projects for maintaining law and order and public safety.
Eric Zarate is a freelance journalist.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
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