City and county officials in Fort Dodge, Webster County, are moving forward with plans to create a Public Safety Authority to address long-standing public safety facility needs. The current Webster County jail is too small to meet current demands and is affecting operations for both county and city law enforcement agencies.

Current Jail Conditions

The current jail houses about 45 inmates and regularly requires six to 10 inmates to be housed in other counties, which is costly. Housing inmates elsewhere costs between approximately $60 and $120 per inmate per day, in addition to transportation costs and staff time for court appearances, medical appointments, and other required movements.

Over the last 12 months, members of law enforcement issued 372 cite-and-release cases: 308 by the Fort Dodge Police Department and 64 by the Webster County Sheriff’s Office. Since April 2023, Fort Dodge police have issued 1,122 cite-and-release cases. These figures reflect what officials call a growing challenge, where officers may be limited in being able to take people into custody because the jail is full or nearly full.

Public Safety Authority Plan

County and city officials say there are aging infrastructure and operational concerns at the existing facility. They said the building has limited medical and inmate classification space, water leaks, sewer backups, mold, and humidity issues, outdated locks, and recurring maintenance problems.

Creating the Public Safety Authority is intended to let the city of Fort Dodge and Webster County continue looking into the most responsible way to meet public safety needs for both communities. Under the structure of a Public Safety Authority, lease payments made by governments that take part would be funded through a direct annual tax dedicated to that purpose.

Original reporting: KCCI Des Moines — read the source article.