Latah County Eyes New Jail But Faces Funding Hurdles
Latah County officials are weighing options to build a new jail in Moscow, but questions over how to fund the project are proving just as challenging as the construction itself.
The county shuttered its jail last year after the facility failed two separate inspections. The attached structure near the Latah County Courthouse was found to have deficiencies in its electrical and fire suppression systems, and it did not comply with federal Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. Since the closure, county inmates have been transported to the Nez Perce County Jail in Lewiston — roughly 45 minutes away — at a daily cost of $127 per inmate, compared to the $116-per-day cost when the local facility was still operating.
The strain on local law enforcement has been real, with sheriff’s staff managing the logistical and financial burden of housing detainees out of county while the future of a replacement facility remains undecided.
Survey Shows Support, But Not Enough to Pass a Bond
A community survey conducted to gauge public appetite for a new jail found that 57 percent of respondents backed the project. However, only 49 percent said they were willing to raise property taxes to fund it. That gap is significant. Idaho law requires bond measures to clear a two-thirds supermajority — 66.6 percent — before they can be approved, a threshold well above current public support levels.
Jace Perry, a consultant with Clearwater Financial who oversaw the survey, noted that many residents simply lack familiarity with what the jail situation involves. “A lot of folks in the community don’t interact. They don’t know the challenges,” Perry said, adding that those working directly with the facility understand the urgency in ways the broader public may not.
Perry also noted that a substantial portion of survey respondents indicated they needed more information before forming an opinion — suggesting the gap between awareness and support could narrow with targeted public outreach.
Local Option Tax Floated as Alternative Path
Given the steep bar for bond approval, Latah County Treasurer BJ Swanson has urged county officials to pursue a different route: lobbying the Idaho Legislature to authorize a local option sales tax for counties. Under current state law, only resort communities are permitted to levy these special local taxes.
“We’ll accomplish that faster than running a direct bond,” Swanson said. He also cautioned against allowing a jail bond to compete directly with school district bond measures that may be on future ballots — a dynamic that could split voter support and doom both efforts.
Statewide, the challenge of passing jail bonds is not unique to Latah County. Officials in Ada and Canyon counties — Idaho’s two most populous — have also struggled in recent years to secure voter approval for new or expanded jail facilities despite documented overcrowding and deteriorating infrastructure.
Scope of the Project Still Undecided
Latah County Commissioners have not yet settled on what the new facility would include. Commissioner Tony Johnson said the board will spend coming weeks deliberating over key details, including total bed count and whether the building would also serve as a headquarters for the county sheriff’s office.
The former jail averaged around 23 inmates on any given day in both pre- and post-trial detention. Officials are now considering a facility with at least 100 beds to accommodate projected population growth and potential future demand.
Perry argued that building for the long term makes more fiscal sense than constructing a minimal facility that would need costly upgrades down the road. A larger jail could also generate revenue by housing inmates from neighboring counties that are similarly short on space.
For Moscow residents keeping an eye on public safety developments, the Moscow Police Log from April 13 reflects the day-to-day realities of law enforcement operations in a county without a functioning local detention facility.
What Comes Next
Latah County Commissioners are expected to continue deliberations on the scope, design, and financing of a potential new jail in the weeks ahead. Any funding proposal — whether a bond measure, a push for state legislation enabling a local option tax, or some combination — will require both political momentum and a clearer public education effort before moving forward. Residents and taxpayers should expect the conversation to intensify as the daily cost of housing inmates in Lewiston continues to accumulate.