The Douglas County Board of Commissioners (BOC) will likely take the first step today toward a Nov. 3 special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) referendum for a new county jail.

The move will part of the agenda for today’s 10 a.m. BOC meeting in Citizens Hall at the county courthouse.

The BOC is expected to vote on a resolution, as required by law, that a public meeting with representatives of the county’s three cities will be scheduled to discuss the proposed SPLOST vote. The BOC must give a 10-day notice before the meeting is held. Once the meeting occurs, the county must adopt a ballot within 30 days.

Chief Deputy Stan Copeland addressed a Monday BOC work session to inform the board of the need for a new jail.

“One of the things that often gets lost in a discussion is the safety of our officers who work in the jail,” Copeland said. “Fifty-five percent of the jail is dormitory, open space like in military barracks. We have one or two correction officers having to guard up to 72 inmates.”

He said security problems at the jail are getting worse as it becomes more overcrowded. In one recent occurrence, he said, an inmate tried to choke a corrections officer.

“Even in the secure area of the jail, inmates can pop the locks on their cells,” Copeland said. “And we have no lock down space at all for mental health inmates.”

Copeland said the jail’s current square footage should house only about 485 inmates. The population Monday was 739. The county is also housing 32 inmates in Irwin County at a cost of $35 per day, per inmate.

“We could send out another 100, with an annual cost of about $3 million to the county,” he said.

Commission Chairman Tom Worthan said the referendum would be just for a new jail.

“This is not a wish list but something we have to have,” Worthan said Monday. “We’re listening to the public and they told us last time that they don’t want a wish list.”

Worthan was referring to the 2008 referendum that was voted down by the public probably because it had many listed projects that weren’t popular with the voters. A similar 2006 referendum was turned down because many voters didn’t want the new twin-tower structure built downtown. The county has since acquired a 42-acre jail site near the courthouse.

“Construction costs are coming down and interest rates are probably the lowest we’ll ever see in our lifetime,” Worthan said.

He said the construction contract could be worded to require local vendors for the project.

County Administrator Eric Linton said the county may qualify for federal stimulus funds if it builds an energy efficient building.

“It would also save us money to operate,” Linton said.

District 4 Commissioner David Latham said he has some concerns that road work may be slighted while paying off the six-year jail bond.

“We may not be able to build any roads for six years,” Latham said Monday. “That’s a citizen safety issue as well. I hope we have more discussion before this is decided.”

District 1 Commissioner Freddie Ashmon Jr. agreed with Latham.

“I want to sit down and make sure we’re doing the right thing,” Ashmon said. “It has to be what the public wants.”

James Bell, head of Douglas County Taxpayers Coalition, a citizen tax protest group, attended Monday’s meeting to tell the commissioners that he is one citizen who doesn’t want the sales tax increase.

“This is the worst possible time to seek a tax increase,” Bell said. “The economy has tanked and retail businesses are struggling to keep their doors open and citizens are just trying to pay their bills. People are not likely to tax themselves this year.”

Bell was speaking under the recently adopted BOC rules where people who want public comment at a BOC meeting must register before the meeting.