Canyon County voters may have the opportunity to vote on a jail bond in 2010. Commissioners have not yet determined whether this will come to pass, but if the proposal were the same as the one that received 58 percent of the vote Nov. 3, the following provides some information about that bond.
The $46 million bond would cost the average homeowner in Canyon County less than $30 a year in taxes. Canyon County $46 Million General Obligation Bond Tax Impact Analysis 
The Dale Haile jail houses 296 inmates, and studies show that based on population, Canyon County should have 954 jail beds available. The jail was built in 1993, and while the number of officers on the street arresting offenders has more than doubled in that time, and our county's population has gone from 90,076 to 190,920, no new hard jail beds have been added. Canyon County Jail Bond Election Presentation 
Follow this link for information about the sorts of crimes inmates at the Canyon County Jail, and Work Release Center are charged with. Some of these people are serving sentences, and others are awaiting for the court process to complete. Jail Population on 10-01-2009 by charge
Additionally, Sheriff Chris Smith says there are more than 7,000 unserved warrants in the county, and officers have no ability to serve the warrants and make arrests, because there is no space in the jail to house offenders.
The proposed new jail will include space for rehabilitation classes such as drug abuse classes, anger management classes and sex offender classes, to help the offenders learn methods of coping, in hopes they won't reoffend. Jail Bond Fact Sheet
The jail would be operated with staff currently employed by the county, and has space to expand in the future, if the county's population continues to grow.
Jail officials will hold tours for anyone who would like to see the existing jail by appointment, at 454-7541. If you have a group that would like to hear a presentation regarding the current jail's needs and potential bond, contact Craig Hanson at 454-5968.